I hope the Indian bowlers manage to get some sleep  in between the nightmares that will stalk them tonight. Admitted, the pitch is heart breaking for bowlers but they bowled even worse today. More of that later.

Pakistan declared at 679 for 7 from only 143.3 overs. In short, it was a massacre. Younis Khan was run out for 199 after Mohd. Yusuf played a stellar knock of 173. To me, Yusuf was the best batsman of the day. Afridi (103 from 80 balls) and Kamran Akmal (102 from 81 balls) then flayed the bowlers with a ferocity that would make most bowlers lose all sense of self esteem. Kamran has progressed spectacularly over the last year and is a big plus for Pakistan. Instead of bowling wicket to wicket, Irfan and Agarkar gave width outside off and bowled short repeatedly with expected outcomes. One has to bowl a stifling line ball after ball after ball a la' Mcgrath to force mistakes from batsmen. Reincarnation is the only hope for Irfan and Agarkar to bowl like Mcgrath, though! Bhajji and Kumble just did not have the variations required on the slow but spinning track. It was demoralizing all around.

I congratulate the Pakistani batsmen. The pitch was tailor made but they batted extremely well and very aggressively. Four batsmen scoring hundreds in an innings is special, irrespective of batting surface. I have always said that the so called superiority of Indian batting does not count against Pakistan as many of their batsman invariably raise their game against India. One look at their records against other teams is all you need.

As predicted by yours truly, Rahul Dravid walked out to open the innings with Sehwag which shows the character and determination of the man. I do not know if he will be as successful as Saurav  but Rahul is clearly the more courageous captain. Shouting and posturing should not be mistaken for courage. Rahul and Sehwag played well to end the day on 65/0. Rahul was tested by Shoaib with some hostile short pitched stuff which he handled with good technique and a steely determination which is the hallmark of the man.

I will not make any further comments on Saurav. The current batting order cannot be permanent and the disarray is apparent. It was a mistake to keep both Gambhir and Jaffer out. I hope Zaheer gets to play the next test and Agarkar is given a long rest.

The pitch is still a batsman's dream and the Indian batsmen should  play their natural game. Do not bring pressure on by thinking about the mammoth target. Just take it a session at a time and keep your concentration.

I see a draw written all over it.