Kumble shines as India seal series

BANGALORE, India -- India clinched a first home series success against Pakistan for the first time in 27 years after the tourists scrambled to salvage a draw in the third and final Test on Wednesday.

Pakistan, set an unlikely 374 to win off 48 overs on the final day and level the series at 1-1, reached 162-7 from 36 when play was cut short by bad light six minutes before the scheduled close.

Anil Kumble celebrated the successful end of his first series as India captain, claiming his 34th five-wicket haul in Tests to move within 16 victims of 600 in total.

The 37-year-old leg-spinner took the first five wickets to fall, including captain Younis Khan for a duck and top scorer Faisal Iqbal for 51 as Pakistan attacked in a bid to win the match.

Iqbal scored his runs off only 54 deliveries, while opener Yasir Hameed made 39 off 41 before being bowled but Kumble struck twice in an over on two occasions to give his side a scent of victory.

Misbah-ul-Haq, who made an unbeaten 133 in the first innings, cracked 38 off 40 balls before becoming the first of Yuvraj Singh's two victims -- the slow left-armer also bowled Yasir Arafat for a duck.

India, who won the first Test by six wickets, started the final day on 131-2 with Rahul Dravid on 35 and first-innings hero Sourav Ganguly on 63.

Former captain Ganguly fell nine runs short of becoming the seventh batsman to score a double-century and a hundred in a Test when he edged Mohammad Sami to Iqbal at gully.

However, he did manage to pass 1,000 runs in the calendar year before being dismissed.

Dravid was trapped leg before wicket by leg-spinner Danesh Kaneria for 42 and Yuvraj Singh, who smashed a century in the first innings, was caught behind off Sami for just two on his 26th birthday to leave India 184-5.

WS Laxman was forced to retire hurt for 14 after being hit by fiery fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, having put on another 41 with Dinesh Kartik.

The wicketkeeper then reached his second half-century in Tests before his dismissal for 52 - which featured eight fours and a six -- saw Kumble declare at 284-6 before tea.

Hameed and Salman Butt survived the 10 overs before the interval, taking Pakistan to 23-0, and extended their partnership to 44 before Kumble struck and the wickets began to tumble.

The match ended in minor confusion as the floodlights at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium were turned on despite a pre-series agreement that they could not be used due to the lack of similar facilities in New Delhi.

The lights were quickly turned off, and the players did not return to the field after Mohammad Yousuf and Sami were offered the chance to go off.

Meanwhile, India's selectors have recalled opening batsman Virender Sehwag for the four-Test series in Australia.

The 29-year-old was drafted into the 16-member squad after being left out of the shortlist of 24 candidates a week ago.

He has not played a Test since the third match of the series in South Africa in early January, which India lost by five wickets.

The team, which will again be led by Kumble, also includes rookie seamer Pankaj Singh in the squad. E-mail to a friend

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