Wasim Jaffer hit a brisk half-century as India kept alive their hopes of forcing a win in the second Test against Pakistan in Kolkata yesterday.
The opener followed his first-innings 202 with 56 to help the hosts reach 141-2 in their second innings for an overall lead of 301 at stumps on the penultimate day.
India, leading 1-0 in the three-Test series, shuffled their batting order to gather quick runs in a bid to set a testing fourth-innings target for Pakistan on the fifth and final day.
Hard-hitting Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28) and Sourav Ganguly (24), who were promoted in the batting order, were at the crease when bad light stopped play.
In-form Jaffer showed the way with a 75-run stand for the opening wicket with Dinesh Karthik (28). Dhoni and Ganguly then kept the momentum as India made 121 in the closing 29 overs.
Pakistan will need to bat more than two sessions on a last-day pitch today if India declare their second innings closed during the morning session.
Misbah-ul-Haq earlier gave Pakistan a lifeline when he remained unbeaten with a gutsy 161 to help his side avoid a follow-on.
The middle-order batsman showed remarkable determination and concentration under pressure, forcing India to bat again in the match when he had only tailenders to give him company.
"I will always remember this knock as it was my son's birthday when I scored my first century. So, definitely it was special," Misbah said.
"It was not easy to bat second in these conditions. So if a team fight back, the confidence level goes up and that is what happened to us. If we manage to draw the Test, it will be good for us," he said.
"If they set a target then we will go out there and play normal cricket. If a situation develops where our openers give us a good start, maybe then we can decide whether to chase the target or just play out the day," Misbah said.
Needing 417 to avert the follow-on, Pakistan were a shaky 358-6 at stumps on Sunday, but achieved their objective in the morning when Misbah turned part-time seamer Ganguly to square-leg for two runs.
The 33-year-old Misbah, playing only his ninth Test, faced 351 balls and cracked a six off spinner Harbhajan Singh and 14 fours in his maiden century. He added 53 to his overnight score of 108.
Pakistan were bowled out for 456 in the afternoon in reply to India's first-innings total of 616-5 declared, with Misbah and Sami adding 91 crucial runs for the seventh wicket.
RSS