You will rarely see a more sensational start to a test match. You will also never see a team give it all away so spectacularly either. Overall, a very disappointing end to a day that promised so much. A first innings lead will be priceless on this pitch. That was a given in the morning but is now  going to be a struggle.

Rahul won the toss and made the right choice in choosing to bowl and what a start it was! With the fourth ball of the first over, Irfan got Salman Butt to edge one swinging away to Rahul who took a good low catch at first slip. The next ball was a Pathan trademark- inswinger to Younis Khan who shuffled as usual to be caught plumb in front. Mohd. Yusuf walked out in a hush to recieve an even bigger inswinger that rattled middle and leg. Before you knew it, the first hattrick in the first over of a test match had been performed and the scoreboard read 0/3.

You had to rub your eyes to believe what you were seeing. Soon it became 39/6 as Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Afridi and Imran Farhat came and went. At 59 Razzaq was caught plumb in front but Daryl Harper gave him the benefit of non- existant doubt. It happens all the time - when wickets fall so quickly, umpires reflexly become more conservative for fear of making a mistake. It turned out to be a crucial decision as the next wicket fell at 154. Had that been given, Pakistan would have slipped to 59/7 and making 125 would have been a struggle.

The bowlers were excited after the early wickets and it literally got to their head. Even though the ball was swinging appreciably, control was not ideal. Zaheer, RP and to a lesser extent, Irfan kept bowling a couple of balls well wide of off stump every over. They regularly bowled one bad ball per over mixed with some good balls. This took the pressure off Kamran Akmal and Razzak who scored over 4 an over even when six down for next to nothing. Once you've hit a four there is no need to take any chances in an over.  The inability to suffocate the batsmen cost the team dear. The 115 run partnership between them came off only 26.3 overs (4.34 an over). Instead of sticking to a line in and around off stump they were trying to take a wicket every ball and ended up spraying it around a bit.

Dhoni missed  stumping Akmal on 80 and he went on to score 113, falling with the score at 236. Somehow, the Indians allowed Shoaib Akhtar to score 45 priceless runs. They bowled very poorly to him. Both R P and Zaheer kept pitching it in short and got smacked around as you would expect at their pace. With the ball swinging, it should have been pitched up and after a couple of hits he would have been on his way back. It was infuriating to see ball after ball pitched short - the bowlers were getting carried away and it was plain stupid. True, they made him duck and weave but it was Shoaib who was laughing at the end.

Pakistan were all out for 245 with Irfan taking five, Zaheer two and R P three. Kumble went wicketless, but will have a say later in this match.

India started with VVS and Rahul. We ended the day at 74 for 4. Both Rahul and VVS were out to virtually unplayable deliveries. Sehwag could have left a fast, short one from Shoaib but tickled it to Akmal for 5. Sachin should have done better. He got a straight one from Razzaq and instead of playing it straight he tried to turn it on the leg side. He got an inside edge onto pad and was bowled. He was actually bowled by a straight ball that did not move at all. With the ball seaming around, a straight bat should have been offered.

Saurav had earlier walked in at 56/3 at VVS's dismissal and held his own I thought, to remain unbeaten on 9 along with Yuvraj on 7 with the score 74/4.  If we concede a first inning lead we are likely to lose this test. It is difficult to predict how this pitch will behave on day five and there is a good chance it will spin and bounce. Pakistan are likely to get the best batting conditions on days three and four and will make us pay if we fall for a low first inning score.

Saurav is unlikely to get a better chance to prove his detractors wrong. What better way to convince the sceptics than to play a big knock in Pakistan on a difficult pitch when the team is struggling to stay in the match. Yuvraj, too, can prove that he has truly arrived and can deliver when the team needs him to - a quality that seems to be receding in one of the greats in the current team. Saurav, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Irfan have their work cut out. Gentlemen, it's time to show what you are made of.

I goes without saying that it is not going to be easy. On the other hand, it helps to remember that Pakistan were 39/6, even though I do not think the Pakistani bowlers are going to be as generous as ours. It will be riveting, that's guaranteed.