Inzamam's 184 puts Pakistan in driving seat

Pakistan 323-2 v India

Inzamam-ul-Haq hit the highest Test score seen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here yesterday to put Pakistan in a commanding position at the end of day one in the third Test against India.

Inzamam-ul-Haq hit the highest Test score seen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here yesterday to put Pakistan in a commanding position at the end of day one in the third Test against India.

The Pakistan captain, in his 100th Test, hit an unbeaten 184 to top the previous best of 177 by Sachin Tendulkar against Australia. Along with a century by Younis Khan, who ended the day 127 not out, Inzamam helped to take the tourists to 323 for 2 at stumps. The pair put on a third-wicket stand of 316, a remarkable recovery after Pakistan lost the openers Yasir Hameed and Shahid Afridi within the opening three overs, leaving them on 7 for 2.

Inzamam won the toss and elected to bat, but then saw two quick setbacks. Afridi was the first to go for a golden duck, when he tried to drive a pitched-up ball from Lakshmipathy Balaji, and edged straight to Rahul Dravid. Hameed did not last much longer as he was dismissed for six runs when he waved his bat at Irfan Pathan's delivery to give Dinesh Karthik an easy catch.

However, from a desperate position, Inzamam helped Pakistan out of their early slumber by dominating the rest of the day. India, who retained the side which won the second Test in Calcutta, introduced Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh into the attack, but that did little to stop Pakistan's momentum.

The partnership remained unscathed as Inzamam reached his century. With 15 boundaries, it took him just 131 balls to claim his second Test hundred against India and his 21st overall. Only five cricketers can now boast a century in their 100th Test: Colin Cowdrey (1968), Javed Miandad (1989), Gordon Greenidge (1990) and Alec Stewart (2000).

Inzamam made his fourth Test score of over 150 as the records continued to fall. First he made the highest score made by a batsman in his 100th Test, beating Greenidge's 149, before achieving the highest score by a Pakistan captain against India ­ the previous best a 168 from Zaheer Abbas at Lahore in 1984-85.

Shortly before the close, Inzamam and Khan achieved the 300-run partnership, which came off 493 balls, to leave the tourists in a strong position as they seek to level the three-match series.

¿ Claire Taylor's hundred helped England take maximum points from their second match at the women's World Cup, via a 214-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Harlequins club in South Africa. Taylor hit 11 fours and a six in her 136 out of England's 284 for 4, before they bowled out Sri Lanka for just 70.