Morning session: (30 overs, 126 runs, 1 wicket)

India skipper Sourav Ganguly [Images] won the toss and elected to bat on an Eden Gardens pitch that had only enough grass to bind it for five days. The seamers will not get much assistance as a result, and it came as no surprise when Harbhajan Singh [Images] was brought into the side in place of Zaheer Khan [Images].

There were changes in the Pakistan team as well, with opener Salman Butt [Images] being dropped in favour of all-rounder Shahid Afridi [Images]. Left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil replaced the injured Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

The last team to win at Eden Gardens after electing to bat first was Pakistan, in 1999. For the first hour the pitch tends to support the seamers and then flattens out. This time round, however, that did not happen.

Twenty-two runs came in the first five overs, and 42 in the first ten, as openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir [Images] gave India a solid start.

Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Sami [Images] and Khalil used the short ball to try and curb Sehwag's strokes, but it was a tactic that also gave us a measure of their lack of confidence. A new-ball bowler should be looking to take wickets and not contain the batsmen.

The ineffectiveness of the seamers was shown by the fact that Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq introduced leg spinner Danish Kaneria into the attack in the ninth over of the innings.

But Inzamam was playing a very dangerous game. Sehwag and Gambhir have virtually no respect for spinners and Kaneria, by virtue of being brought into the attack so early, was being exposed to these attacking batsmen.

Eighteen runs came off the leg-spinner's first three overs and, for the moment, it looked like Inzamam's ploy had failed. After one hour, India were 63 for no loss after 14 overs.

But then, Kaneria's sheer persistence paid off. The leg-spinner had given away 28 runs in 4.2 overs at 6.22 RPO. A lesser bowler would have wilted, but Kaneria kept tossing it up and eventually got Gambhir's wicket with a well-disguised googly.

The left-hander (29 off 48 balls, 4 x 4) shaped up for the sweep shot but was fooled by the googly, which pitched on the leg-stump and struck him in front of middle. Umpire Steve Bucknor [Images], standing in his 100th match, had no hesitation in giving him out. (80 for 1)

It was a good partnership for India; it provided a solid base for the rest of the batsmen to build on.

If there is perhaps one facet that Gambhir needs to add to his game, it is the way he builds on his starts. Right now he seems to give his wicket away too easily. That has to change.

Rahul Dravid, the next man in, settled down quickly and India's 100 came up in the 22nd over with Sehwag's contribution a quickfire 53.

It was spin from both ends from the 23rd over. Afridi joined Kaneria in the attack. Sehwag seemed to settle down a bit in the company of Dravid. While Dravid and Gambhir treated Kaneria with respect, Sehwag dominated him, scoring 28 runs (10 singles, one two and four boundaries) off just 26 balls.

At lunch, India were a healthy 126 for 1 after 30 overs, with Sehwag unbeaten on 64 and Dravid on 22.

Post-Lunch session (30 overs, 99 runs, 1 wicket)

Pakistan started the post-lunch session by taking Kaneria out of the attack. Instead, the inexperienced Khalil joined Afridi.

It was an odd decision by Inzamam. After a break the batsmen are not quite settled and a team would generally go in with its best bowlers. Pakistan did exactly the opposite by taking the leggie out of the attack.

In the event, however, the two bowlers managed to bowl a pretty decent line and kept the runs down. Afridi was firing in his quickish leg-spinners with rhythm and accuracy. And even though Sehwag looked comfortable, one felt it would be a matter of time before the Indian opener would experience one of his patented adrenalin rushes.

Afridi had done well to restrict Sehwag. The right-hander scored only 11 runs off 24 balls and soon his patience gave way. He went for a slog, miscued it and Inzamam, at extra cover, ran back to take a good catch. (156 for 2)

Sehwag's 81 came off 114 balls, including 14 boundaries, and he put on 76 runs for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid.

India's first fifty had come off 79 balls, the second took 61. In comparison, the third was the slowest and took 87 balls.

As Sachin Tendulkar, needing just 27 runs to join the exclusive 10,000-run list, walked in to join Dravid, the immediate concern was whether there would be a repeat of the Mohali folly, when India scored only 59 runs in 29 overs after the fall of Sehwag's wicket in the post-lunch session on Day 3.

The surface had already become powdery and the spinners were getting good purchase. On the evidence of this, India's decision to go in with two spinners looks correct.

Tendulkar took 18 balls to get off the mark, batting in his, now customary, circumspect manner.

After an hour's play in the afternoon session, India were 178 for 2 after 46 overs. It was hot and humid; the heat was starting to get really tough on the cricketers.

Twenty-six runs came in the next five overs as the Indian run-rate started to increase again and the 200 of the innings also came up.

Dravid took the fight to the Pakistanis after the fall of Sehwag's wicket. He made sure every loose ball was punished, and even though Tendulkar took his time at the other end, the run-rate did not suffer.

A few boundaries, and just like that Tendulkar had moved to 25, just two runs away from 10,000 in Test cricket. That's how it stayed until tea was called.

Post-Tea session (29.1 overs, 119 runs, 4 wickets)

After tea, the initial interest was how Tendulkar would reach 10,000 runs. Would it be with a blazing drive through the covers that would remind us of the Sachin of yore? Or would it be a quietly pushed single to some corner of the field?

It turned out to be the latter -- a single down to fine leg off Razzaq. And, ever so quietly at the Eden Gardens, Tendulkar garnered another piece of cricketing immortality. Only four other batsmen -- Allan Border [Images] (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,927), Sunil Gavaskar [Images] (10,122) and Brian Lara [Images] (10,094) -- have achieved the feat.

The crowd rose in unison to greet his 10,000th run and many would have hoped that at least now he would go ahead and play his shots.

It wasn't Sachin who picked up the gauntlet though. Dravid continued to play his shots, but now the Pakistanis started bowling a defensive line outside the leg stump. Skipper Inzamam-ul Haq was off the pitch for a lengthy period due to dehydration.

A few more runs were added in pretty ordinary fashion. Then Tendulkar was dismissed and that started a mini slide.

Tendulkar (52 off 102 balls, 9 x 4) chased a wide delivery from Afridi and the ball kept low. He got a faint edge and Kamran Akmal held on to a difficult chance. (278 for 3).

The partnership between Dravid and Tendulkar was worth 122 runs. Next in was skipper Sourav Ganguly.

Ganguly (12 off 14 balls) has been struggling for form and it was no surprise when, after a few streaky boundaries, he edged a Razzaq delivery straight to 'keeper Kamal, who made no mistake. (298 for 4)

Razzaq remains one of the few Pakistani bowlers who has the ability to reverse swing the ball consistently. And he was starting to do that now. This was going to be a difficult period for the batsmen. One couldn't figure out though why Razzaq was given only four overs for the first two sessions.

As if on cue, a wickedly reverse swinging delivery trapped Laxman in front of his stumps for a duck. Laxman was a bit late to react and paid the ultimate price. (298 for 5)

Two wickets in two balls and Pakistan were back in the game. Dinesh Karthik walked in under immense pressure but calmly kept out the hat-trick ball from Razzaq. From 278 for 2, India were reduced to 298 for 5. The pressure was real and present.

A few more quick wickets and the projected 500-run total would have evaporated very quickly. Dravid needed to shepherd the remaining batsmen and that's exactly what he did. The right-hander also posted his 19th Test century with a four through mid-wicket.

Karthik started to find his touch slowly and just when it looked like India had played out the final session without any further loss, disaster struck in the form of Dravid's wicket.

The India vice-captain edged an away moving delivery off Kaneria in the last over of the day and Akmal took another good catch to cap off a good comeback by Pakistan.

Dravid was gone for 110 off 222 balls, including 15 fours and one six. (344 for 6)

The advantage India had built during the day quickly disappeared.

Karthik, 28 not out, Irfan Pathan [Images] and the tail can all swing their bats around, but the Indian innings could be wrapped up very quickly on the morning of day 2.

Mail Ashish Magotra