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KARACHI, Jan 29 (AFP): Kamran Akmal smashed 113 to rescue Pakistan after Indian seamer Irfan Pathan had grabbed a hat-trick in a dramatic start to the final Test here Sunday.
The gutsy wicket-keeper's fourth Test hundred helped Pakistan recover from a disastrous 39-6 within the first hour to reach 245 in their first innings.
The seaming wicket at the National Stadium did not spare the Indians either, who were 74-4 in reply at stumps and waging a grim struggle for survival at the crease.
Akmal was once more in the thick of the action, taking catches off Indian captain Rahul Dravid (three) and Virender Sehwag (five).
India lost two wickets at 56 when Venkatsai Laxman (19) was bowled by a huge in-cutter from Mohammad Asif and Sachin Tendulkar (23) also had his stumps shattered by Abdul Razzaq.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly (nine) and Yuvraj Singh (seven) were at the crease when time ran out with 11 overs still remaining to be bowled.
The rattle of wickets contrasted sharply with the high-scoring draws in the first two Tests in Lahore and Faisalabad which produced 2,791 runs and saw only 36 of the possible 80 wickets fall.
Pakistan, given first strike by Dravid, were rocked by Pathan's three-in-a-row trick in the first over of the match.
The left-arm seamer had Salman Butt caught at first slip off the fourth delivery, trapped stand-in captain Younis Khan leg-before with the fifth and clean bowled Mohammad Yousuf off the sixth.
Pathan finished with five for 61, while fellow left-arm seamers Rudra Pratap Singh and Zaheer Khan shared the remaining five wickets as Pakistan's innings lasted less than five hours.
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