Sourav Ganguly struck an epic 239 and fellow left-hander Irfan Pathan hit his maiden century as India tightened the noose around Pakistan in the third and final cricket Test in Bangalore on Sunday.
Ganguly stole the show on the 2nd day with his vintage batting as he made a magnificent 239, hitting 30 boundaries and two sixes in 361 deliveries.
In the absence of Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan found it really hard to make any sort of impression against the left-hander, who looked in absolute command. Debutant Yasir Arafat was the most successful bowler for Pakistan as he took five for 161 in his 39 overs.
Irfan Pathan also his outing with the bat as he posted his maiden Test century. Pathan, made 102, added 178 runs for the seventh wicket as India made the most of batting on a good wicket.
Yuvraj Singh smashed a magnificent 169 on day one, adding 300 runs for the fifth wicket with Ganguly as India recovered in quite after being reduced to 61 for 4.
India leads the three-match series 1-0. They won the first Test in Delhi by six wickets, while the second Test in Kolkata ended in a draw.
All Courtesy : Rediff
Ten months after Sourav Ganguly was unceremoniously dropped from the national side, the former India captain was on Thursday included in the Test squad for South Africa.
Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said the Indian batting had failed in the one-dayers in South Africa and that is why "experienced players have been brought back".
V V S Laxman, who was rushed to South Africa to replace an injured Rahul Dravid, was also named as vice captain of the Indian test team.
Other players who have found a place in the Test squad include Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir and Punjab pacer V R V Singh.
Buddha smiles
Ganguly last played for India against Pakistan earlier this year. Reacting to his inclusion, the Bengal Tiger said, "I hope to do my best and just go out and play."
"We have played well on bouncy wickets and have been successful. We did well in Australia and the same group of players are back," he added.
Pointing out that he had played well for the past 10 years, Ganguly maintained he would take one series at a time and was happy that he had got his place back in the team.
Elsewhere, in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee expressed happiness at Ganguly's return and said the move should have taken place earlier.
"That's great. It's a very good news. But I feel he should have been taken back earlier," said Bhattacharjee, an ardent fan of Ganguly.
The first Test of the three-match series starts on December 15.
The team: Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni, Dinesh Karthick, Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth.
(With PTI inputs)
Sourav Ganguly struck an epic 239 and fellow left-hander Irfan Pathan hit his maiden century as India tightened the noose around Pakistan in the third and final cricket Test in Bangalore on Sunday.
