Since their respective comebacks to international cricket, Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan have showed steely determination and a desire to make amends for lost time. They underlined that fact with some transcendent strokeplay, guiding India to a commanding position in the third Test against Pakistan.

Ganguly has achieved a clutch of milestones during his career at the top flight, spanning well over a decade. But a double century has always eluded him. On a bright Sunday, the Kolkatan set the record straight to guide India to an imposing 626 in their first innings. Pathan's maiden Test hundred too played a significant part in India gaining the upper hand. Pakistan were 86 for one at stumps on the second day at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

Ganguly's partnership with Pathan was not as resplendent as the one which he and Yuvraj Singh had shared on the first day. But in the context of the match, their 178-run alliance that consumed just 220 balls was very crucial.
The left-handed duo scored at more than four runs an over and never appeared in trouble against a weakened Pakistan bowling, with strike bowler Shoaib Akhtar not bowling a single ball on the day.

But still they needed to guard against getting carried away by the flat pitch and a stingless attack. Pacer Yasir Arafat had shown the exit sign to overnight batsman Dinesh Kaarthick and the visitors had every reason to believe they could bring curtains on the Indian innings soon.

Pathan, however, trampled those ambitions in the company of Ganguly, playing some audacious shots all around the park. At the other end, Ganguly was determined to get his double ton, but that personal goal in no way clamped him down. The former skipper was more selective in his shot-making than on the previous day. It was clear that Ganguly did not want to miss out on a golden chance to hurdle past a long-elusive milestone.

As he approached the landmark, Ganguly cut out all the risks and concentrated on singles as there was seldom a false shot from him in that period. He reached the cherished mark when he eased Arafat through covers for a couple of runs.

Ganguly relished the moment with a huge grin and swirl of the bat over his head. Even after he crossed the double-hundred mark, there was no lapse in concentration as he went on piling up runs at a brisk pace. The team management will certainly welcome Ganguly’s desire for big runs ahead of the Australian tour.
The glorious innings finally came to a somewhat meek end when Danish Kaneria managed to beat his attempted sweep.

Pathan looked rusty in the initial stages of his innings, but grew in confidence with Ganguly supporting him from the other end.

The Baroda lad, making his first Test appearance in nearly 18 months, rocked the Pakistan attack after the lethargic phase in the beginning, wading into the opposition bowling with gusto.

But the dismissal of Ganguly, and the subsequent sudden departure of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, seemed to put Pathan's ambitions of a maiden Test hundred in jeopardy. Ishant Sharma had to negate four balls from Arafat, and Pathan, then on 96, might have felt like standing on thorns.

The youngster, however, was in no mood to squander the chance, and brought up the gratifying moment with a six off Kaneria over mid-wicket. Arafat's five-wicket haul was the lonely moment of cheer for Pakistan.
With such a huge total on the board, the momentum was always going to be with India. Skipper Kumble straightaway pressed the attack button, setting a pre-dominantly off-side field.

Pakistan openers Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed too were equal to the task as they faced Indian new-ball bowlers fearlessly, playing shots all over the park as runs came thick and fast.

Sensing the barrenness of the pitch, Kumble brought himself into the attack and the move fetched the desired result. The Bangalorean, with the crowd rooting his every move, bowled with a lot of purpose and nailed Hameed in front of the wicket. India had struck the first blow, but they will have to maintain the intensity on the morrow to tighten their grip.

SCORE BOARD

INDIA (I Innings, O/n: 365/5):
Jaffer lbw Arafat 17
(95m, 62b, 3x4)
Gambhir c Akmal b Sami 5
(40m, 19b, 1x4)
Dravid c Misbah b Arafat 19
(45m, 18b, 3x4)
Ganguly b Kaneria 239
(523m, 361b, 30x4, 2x6)
Laxman b Arafat 5
(19m, 10b, 1x4)
Yuvraj c Iqbal b Sami 169
(252m, 203b, 28x4, 1x6)
Kaarthick c Akmal b Arafat 24
(92m, 70b, 3x4)
Pathan c Akmal b Kaneria 102
(177m, 133b, 10x4, 4x6)
Kumble lbw Kaneria 4
(15m, 12b)
Harbhajan lbw Arafat 4
(5m, 6b, 1x4)
Ishant (not out) 0
(5m, 4b)
Extras (B-13, LB-19, NB-6) 38
Total (all out, 150.2 overs) 626
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Gambhir), 2-44 (Dravid), 3-51 (Jaffer), 4-61 (Laxman), 5-361 (Yuvraj), 6-427 (Kaarthick), 7-605 (Ganguly), 8-615 (Kumble), 9-620 (Harbhajan).
Bowling: Akhtar 10-3-23-0, Sami 36-5-149-2 (nb-4), Arafat 39-5-161-5, Kaneria 46.2-8-168-3, Younis 2-0-14-0, Butt 10-1-36-0 (nb-1), Hameed 7-0-43-0 (nb-1).

PAKISTAN (I Innings):
Butt (batting) 50
(120m, 85b, 9x4)
Hameed lbw Kumble 19
(79m, 48b, 4x4)
Younis (batting) 7
(40m, 33b, 1x4)
Extras (B-4, LB-2, NB-4) 10
Total (for 1 wkt, 27 overs) 86
Fall of wicket: 1-59 (Hameed). Bowling: Pathan 9-4-18-0, Ishant 7-3-39-0 (nb-4), Kumble 8-4-19-1, Ganguly 2-0-2-0, Harbhajan 1-0-2-0.