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Dramatic draw at Mohali

Akmal pushes back the boundaries

AFP, Mohali
Pakistan found an unlikely saviour in Kamran Akmal to snatch a creditable draw from the jaws of defeat in the opening Test against India here on Saturday.
Pakistan faced defeat when they resumed batting on the fifth and final morning as they were 53 ahead with last four wickets in hand, but Akmal turned ihe match upsidedown with his superb maiden Test century under pressure.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, 23, exceeded expectations as he slammed a solid 109 in only his 11 th match to help his team post a massive 496-9 declared in the second innings, theirhighestlolal in India.
Pakistan batted more than two sessions to shatter India's hopes of victory in the first match of a three-Test series, thanks to unsung Akmal's resolute baiting.
India finished Ihe day at 85-1 after being sei an improbable target of 293 runs off 25 overs, with Virender Sehwag scoring 36 and Gaulam Gambhir an unbeaten32.
Pakistan gained a big psychological boost ahead of the second Test in Kolkata with their gutsy lower-order batting, led by Akmal, after being under pressure on the first four days of the match.
Akmal led the remarkable recovery as he steered his team to safety with a record 184-run stand with Abdul Razzaq, a free-stroking batsman who curbed his shots in his team's interest. Razzaq scored 71 off 260 balls.
The partnership was Pakistan's best for the seventh wicket against India, surpassing the previous highest of 154 between Imran Khan and Ijaz Faqih at Ahmedabad in 1986.
Akmal became only the second
Pakistani wicketkeeper after Imtiaz Ahmed (1960-61) to score a Test hundred against India when he fluently drove leg-spinner Anil Kumble through the covers for his 15th four.
Il was a demoralising day for India, who were in a winning position on Friday but had to toil under the sun for more than three hours for their first wicket.
With wickets hard lo come by, pressure kept mounting on India and their bowlers steadily losl confidence and direction. The hosts conceded as many as 52 extras, including 13wides and two no-balls.
A minor consolation was dial Kumble became the fifth Test bowler to complete 450 wickels after Australians Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan and retired West Indies paceman Courtney Walsh.
Fast bowler Laxmipatliy Balaji finished with nine wickets in his
comeback match and Kumble with six, but they failed to deliver when their learn needed it most.
When Akmal was caught driving by substitute fielder Harbhajan Singh in ihe cover off Balaji in the post-lunch session, Pakistan had saved the game as they were 223 runs in front.
India had few chances to break the match-saving stand between Akmal and Razzaq on a fifth-day track which was still good for batting as it had neither bounce for pacemen nor turn for spinners.
Akmal was on 45 when his mistimed drive off left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan eluded the outstretched hand ofVcnkatsai Laxman al second slip.
Razzaq survived on 50 when he tried to loft Kumble over mid-on, where Ganguly ran back nearly 15 yards but could get only his fingertips to the ball. He then smashed the next ball for a six over long-on.
SCOREBOARD
Complete scoreboard on the fifth and final day of the opening Test between India and Pakistan at Mohali on Saturday:
PAKISTAN: First innings 312
(Kamal 91, Inzamam 57, Umar 44; Balaji 5-76, Pathan 2-68, Kumble 276)
INDIA: First innings 516 (Sehwag 173, Tendulkar 94, Laxman 58, Dravid 50, Gambhir 41; Kaneria 6150, Sami 2-120)
PAKISTAN: Second innings (overnight 257-6)
Butt c Karthik b Pathan 5
Umar c and b Balaji 4
Younis b Balaji 1
Youhana b Kumble 68
Inzamam lbw b Kumble 86
Kamal lbw b Balaji 48
Razzaq c Dravid b Kumble 71
Akmal c sub (Harbhajan) b Balaji 109
Sami c and b Kumble 10
Naved not out 38
Kaneria not out 4
Extras: (b-17, lb-20, nb-2, w-13) 52
Total: (For 9 wkts decl in 144 overs) 496
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-10, 3-10, 4-
149, 5-193, 6-243, 7-427, 8-436, 9467
Bowler O M R W
Pathan 27 7 70 1
Balaji 30 5 95 4
Kumble 54 16 160 4
Zaheer 22 0 93 0
Tendulkar 8 0 30 0
Sehwag 3 1 11 0
INDIA: Second innings
Gambhir not out 32
Sehwag st Akmal b Younis 36
Extras: (b-5, lb-8, nb-4) 17
Total: (For 1 wkt in 17 overs) 85
Fall of wicket: 1-85
Bowler O M R W
Sami 7 0 25 0
Naved 2 0 6 0
Kaneria 6 2 17 0
Younis 2 0 24 1
Result: Match drawn.
Man-of-the-match: Kamran
Akmal.
Toss: India.
Second Test: Mar 16-20, Kolkata.