LAHORE, March 1: Captain Gagan Khoda hit a swashbuckling, unbeaten knock of 181 to take India ``A'' team's first innings total to 300 for two on the opening day of the third unofficial cricket Test against Pakistan ``A'' side at the Qadhafi Stadium on Sunday.
Winning the toss, Gagan Khoda made the correct decision of batting first on a pitch full of runs and thrashed the six bowlers at will which the Pakistan ``A'' team captain Aaqib Javed used, including himself.
Opening the Indian ``A'' innings, Gagan Khoda accumulated 108 runs for the first wicket partnership in 135 minutes. At that stage, opener Wasim Jafar was smartly stumped by wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat off the right-arm leg-spinner Ali Husain Rizvi. The opener Wasim Jafar made 34 runs with the help of three boundaries and stayed at the crease for 186 minutes.
Shahid Afridi claimed the second wicket a little later by having Jatin Paranjape (2) caught by Ali Husain Rizvi at the total of 121. That turned out to be the last happy moment for the Pakistan ``A'' team which consumed the rest of the day in leather chase.
Gagan Khoda found another good partner in Abbas Ali and the two took the India ``A'' side's total to 300 without being separated till draw of stumps. Both Khoda and Abbas added 179 runs in their unbroken third wicket partnership in 205 minutes to take he Indian ``A'' side to a position of strength. Both will resume their team's first innings on Monday. Ali Husain Rizvi and Shahid Afridi gave away 83 and 47 runs, respectively for the one wicket each, the two bowlers got.
Abbas Ali hit seven boundaries in his supporting knock of 67 in 205 minutes. However, the pick of the four Indian batsmen was Gagan Khoda who hit a chanceless knock. Opening the innings, he stayed at the crease for 360 minutes exhibiting his rich repertoire of strokes. Most of strokes were from mid-off to mid-on region. He jumped out of his crease to hit six sixes in his blistering knock and also hit 17 boundaries. It was an innings worth watching. Gagan Khoda can complete his double-century on Monday morning if he bats cautiously.
Day 2: Indians pile up 557-5 in 3rd 'Test'
By Muhammad Yaqoob
LAHORE, March 2: Fine unbeaten centuries by Rohan Gavaskar and Sanjey Raul who were batting at 115 each, steered Indian 'A' to a formidable first innings total of 557 for five against Pakistan A on the second day of the third unofficial Test at a batting wicket of Qadhafi Stadium on Monday.
The visitors resuming the innings at the overnight total of 300 for two in 91 overs also dominated the second day's proceedings under the overcast sky as they had earlier scored 257 before losing three more wickets on Monday.
It was like the first day that Pakistani bowlers and fielders looked struggling to get the Indian A team out on a grassless straight strip but failed to do so. Pakistani bowlers sent down 90 overs and in all had bowled 181 overs in the Test.
Rohan Gavaskar and Sanjey Raul joined hands when the host bowlers had removed three batsmen in the first session of the day with the addition of only 30 runs in 17 overs. But, both Gavaskarand Raul showed great temperament and batting cautiously had collected 227 runs in their 268-minutes unbroken sixth wicket partnership. Applying concentration, they played each ball on merit and did not try to hit any reckless shot.
They together went to take lunch at the total of 358 and tea with the total of 461.
Gavaskar and Raul played a little slow in the first two session of the day as they accumulated 161 runs. But accelerated their speed in the last session, collecting 96 runs in 120 minutes.
Besides, the regular bowlers, captain Aaqib Javed had tested three part-time bowlers including Basit Ali, Akhtar Sarfraz and Bayazid Khan but failed to separate the well set pair of Gavaskar and Raul.
Rohan Gavaskar completed his century by hitting his eighth boundary at mid-on off the bowling of leg-spinner Muhammad Husain. At that time the Indian A total was 525 and Sanjey Raul was at 95. In all R Gavaskar had dispatched the ball nine times to the fence and faced 259 balls in 224 minutes' stay at the wicket.
Sanjey Raul hit Akhtar Sarfraz at cover to cross 100-run mark. That was his seventh and last boundary of the day. He had consumed 205 balls in his long stay of 268 minutes at the crease.
Earlier, the Indian A resumed their innings with a dismal note. Their captain Gagan Khoda who began with 181 and Abbas Ali who resumed at 67 lost wickets quickly.
Marching towards double century, Khoda could add eight runs before he was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat off Aaqib Javed at the total of 315 in 101st over. Khoda displayed some resentment over the decision of umpire Athar Zaidi and allegedly used hot words. Later, the matter was reported to the match-referee Ehtesham-ud-Din. However, the matter was resolved after the Indian manager Srikkanth and Gagan Khoda himself tendered an apology to Athar Zaidiand Ehtesham-ud-Din.
Gagan Khoda could not add any big shot in his overnight haul of 17 boundaries and six sixes. He played 328 balls and defied the Pakistani bowlers for 395 minutes.
With the addition of only seven runs, Abbas Ali was also caught by Hasan Raza off leg-spinner Ali Husain Rizvi for 76 without hitting any big strokes on Monday. He hit all seven boundaries on Sunday. He batted for 257 minutes and played 177 deliveries.
At 330, MS Prasad was caught and bowled by the most successful bowler of Pakistan 'A', Ali Husain Rizvi for one. Rizvi had claimed three wickets but had paid a heavy price of 183 runs.
Aaqib Javed took the remaining one wicket of the day while conceding 37 runs in 22 overs. Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi who had snared one wicket on Sunday remained wicketless on Monday.
Day 3: Bad weather hampers 3rd day's play in 'Test'
By Muhammad Yaqoob
LAHORE, March 3: Only 19 overs could be bowled on the penultimate day of the four-day third unofficial Test between Pakistan A and Indian A cricket teams, due to the inclement weather and soggy outfield at the Qadhafi Stadium on Tuesday.
Starting their first innings in the morning after India A had made the declaration of their first knock at the overnight imposing total of 557 for five, Pakistan A could not play with authority as they lost three top-order batsmen for a paltry total of 69.
The play stopped for three times on different occasions, before a drizzle eventually forced two umpires Iftikhar Malik and Athar Zaidi to call off the play, 30 minutes before the schedule time.
Test discard Basit Ali (10) and Akhtar Sarfraz yet to open his account will resume the Pakistan A first innings on Wednesday morning, weather permitting. The sky is overcast and the met office has forecast more rains.
Other Test cricketers Salim Elahi (26), Shahid Afridi (8) and an up-and-coming cricketer Bayazid Khan (18) had lost their wickets cheaply. They all were caught either in the slips or by the man behind the stumps.
The way Indian pacemen AB Agarkar and N Madukar bowled with a fiery pace was a lesson for the Pakistani bowlers who had allowed the visitors to pile up a mammoth total.
Had Indian captain Gagan Khoda declared the first innings on Monday at the tea interval, he would have been in a better position to force the host team to follow-on.
Shahid Afridi was the first man to go at the total of 18. He could not read a confusing out-swing off AB Agarkar and the wicketkeeper MS Prasad did not commit any mistake in holding an easy catch.
At 37, Salim Elahi played a reckless shot only to offer AB Agarkar his second wicket. He was caught at second slip by Paranjape. He slammed four fours during 39 minutes stay at the wicket.
Bayazid Khan with Basit Ali took the total to 66 before the former was caught by MS Prasad off M Kartik. He hit one boundary and faced 31 balls during 60 minutes batting.
Earlier, the play stared at 11:03 am after the groundsmen dried up the overnight rain water from the outfield. The play again halted after 22 minutes and could be possible after lunch.
But it had again stopped at 1:03 as the Pakistani batsmen repeatedly drew the attention of the umpires to the poor light.
The play again resumed at 2:04 pm for another session of 46 minutes as the umpires had rescheduled the tea-interval. But after that further play could not be possible.
Day 4: Rain-marred 'Test' ends in draw
By Muhammad Yaqoob
LAHORE, March 4: Like the first two unofficial 'Test' between Indian A and Pakistan A cricket teams, third 'Test' also ended in a draw due to the intermittent rains here today at the Qadhafi Stadium.
The inclement weather, which had hampered the game since Tuesday, completely washed out the final's day.
The first 'Test' at Peshawar and the second at Rawalpindi had also met the same fate due to incessant rains in the country. Replying to Indian A's mammoth first innings total of 557 for five Pakistan A were to resume their first innings with an overnight score of 69 for three.
The two umpires, Iftikhar Malik and Athar Zaidi, finally called off the play at 10:30 am.
Fourth 'Test' shift to Karachi
LAHORE, March 4: The fourth and final unofficial cricket 'Test' between Pakistan ``A'' and India ``A'', scheduled at Iqbal Stadium, Sialkot, from March 7 to 10, has been shifted to Karachi due to incessant rains in Sialkot which deluged the ground.
Saleem Badar will officiate the 'Test' along with Mohammad Siddique Khan. Iqbal Sikandar will be the Match Referee.