Afridi, Younis tons leave Pakistan in impregnable position

When Carl Hooper won the toss and inserted Pakistan, and also got an early breakthrough, he could not have envisaged that by the close he would be staring at 344 for three. But thanks to a chancy hundred by Shahid Afridi and a solid one by Younis Khan, the Pakistanis were sitting pretty with the prospect of their sixth back-to-back Test win.

A wicket apiece in each of the three sessions was all Hooper got. His bowlers, with the exception of Merv Dillon (17-5-36-1), all got clobbered at Pakistan's favourite off-shore venue.

And there could be more misery in store for Hooper and his charges. Younis Khan is undefeated on 131, and having had the measure of the Windies attack, looks good for many more. Youhana (47*) too seems in menacing form, and after them there is plenty more batting to come.

Dropped catches continued to be the West Indies' bugbear, while the Pakistanis, as in the first Test, continued to make their opportunities count. Afridi was reprieved on at least three occasions, and while two were hard, the one that Hooper put down in second slip was a sitter. A fielder of Hooper's undisputed calibre, with 104 catches behind him, should have pouched it. Afridi was then on 28, and to rub salt in the would, he then cut loose to give the Pakistan innings momentum.

Hooper partially atoned for his lapse by sending back Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was in good touch, for just 36, with a fabulous catch, stretching full length to hold on to a scorcher at mid-wicket. But it was too little, too late. Youhana never looked like getting out and with Younis scored at a real clip.

The let-offs notwithstanding, Afridi played a good hand, his innings full of power and energy. Dinanath Ramnarine, who had dropped him earlier, felt the full force of Afridi's blade. The handsome Pathan bludgeoned him for two sixes and a four in the last over before lunch, and another six soon after the break. When Dillon finally induced an edge, to his mortification umpire Shakeel Khan turned down the appeal.

Afridi kept his foot firmly on the accelerator, and only relented when he reached 95, collecting his runs in singles to reach his second hundred in his 12th Test. By the time Afridi fell (for 107, off just 149 deliveries, 16 fours, three sixes), clean bowled by Cameron Cuffy as he attempted to pull, the Pakistan total had already climbed to 202. The 43-year-old record for the second wicket (178 at Karachi in 1959 between Hanif Mohammed and Saeed Ahmed) had fallen. It now stands at 190.

With Afridi on song Younis seemed sedate, but once he completed his 50, he too raised the pace. Pedro Collins was pulled to the midwicket boundary twice, and Ramnarine driven straight for a glorious six. Younis completed his century after tea, and took fresh guard.

Inzamam, who is due for a big knock, looked threatening. He too punished Ramnarine, sending him for a six over his head, and lofting him for a four to mid-wicket. When he pulled Ramnarine again, it was indeed travelling when Hooper threw himself at it, bringing off a stunner.

But by the close Pakistan were barely feeling Inzamam's loss, as Youhana and Younis piled further misery on an attack which was already collared. Their unbroken stand for the fourth wicket has already yielded 71 runs. Unless the West Indies get these two early, they will be in for further suffering. Even if they do, they could still be clobbered by the likes of Razzaq and Rashid Latif. They are indeed in the tunnel, with no light at the end of it.