Pakistan opener Salman Butt, who made a solid 67, hoped his side extends its lead to near 300 runs to put India under pressure in the fourth innings.

"I think a 300-plus target is always tough to get in the fourth innings, so if we get another 120-130 runs, it will be safe for us," Butt said.

Butt, however, said Pakistan will have to bowl well to get India out in the fourth innings despite the wear the track might undergo on the fourth day.

"India have some good batsmen, so we have to bowl well like we did in the first innings. We could have got them out under 230 but (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and (VVS) Laxman played good innings, so we have to be cautious."
The 23-year-old opener said the Kotla pitch had low bounce. "The pitch is low and slow but none of the batsmen got out because of the pitch.

“Wickets also fell regularly on the first day, but then Misbah-ul Haq got runs in the first innings and we hope he plays likewise tomorrow," said Butt.

He also banked on the spin duo of Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria to come good in the last innings of the Test.
"We have Danish and Shoaib, so they will be handy if we put a good target on the fourth day. Kaneria can be especially dangerous," Butt remarked.

Butt defended Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, who both failed to score in this match. "I would not call it a failure. There are others who make up for their low scores, like Haq did in the first innings. We don't rely on only two batsmen," Butt explained.

Butt praised Indian skipper Anil Kumble's bowling. "Kumble was bowling one or two balls like that which took off and I tried to play one off the back foot and got the edge. He bowled an excellent spell," he said.