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With Bangalore’s new metro system being built, most of the traffic on Mahatma Gandhi Road, which adjoins the stadium, is one way. And it was a similar story out on the pitch as India continued to pile on the runs and the punishment on the second morning. Yasir Arafat added to his debut tally with the wicket of Dinesh Karthik, but with Sourav Ganguly carrying on serenely, India appeared set for at least 500.

Shoaib Akhtar was on the field, but the time he spent away on the opening day meant that he would only get to bowl 35 minutes before tea. Given the threadbare nature of the attack without him, it was just the sort of news that Pakistan didn’t need given the damage that Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh had done to their chances on Saturday.

Mohammad Sami continued to toil away, and was once again deserted by luck. After Karthik had flashed a streaky shot through gully, he was extremely fortunate not to be given out shouldering arms. Pakistan’s sense of injustice only grew moments later, when Ganguly square-drove and flicked Arafat for fours.

When Arafat then pitched a ball short, Ganguly swatted it contemptuously through midwicket for four more. He reached 150 soon after, and the focus with which he was playing suggested that he clearly had an eye on the double-century that has so far eluded him.

Danish Kaneria came on in the ninth over of the day, but was powerless to stem the tide. Karthik played a superb stroke through the covers, and it was only when Younis Khan brought Arafat back from the Pavilion End that Pakistan had some respite. Karthik’s patchy effort ended at 24, with the pressure telling on a man who was one of India’s most assured performers on the tour of England.

The 66-run partnership may have been broken but Ganguly was in no mood to let things slide. A powerful drive down the ground struck Kaneria on the toe, and when he recovered, Ganguly stepped out and lofted one over the rope at long-off. With Irfan Pathan also showing signs of finding his batting touch, this was threatening to be as much of a mismatch at the Mayweather-Hatton fight.

Source:Cricket News