Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck 89 as India reached 544 for eight at lunch to take a first innings lead of 311 runs on the third day of the second and final Test here today. With Yuvraj Singh joining the list of injury casualties with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni had to shepherd the visiting tail-enders and he did it admirably well for the whole of the morning session which saw 30.1 overs being bowled. Declaration is yet to come but since Yuvraj has suffered a ligament injury on his left wrist and is not expected to bat, India may declare their innings when the new session begins. Pragyan Ojha (1) was the unbeaten batsman at the crease for the visitors. India added just 85 runs in the opening session after resuming the day at 459 for five as Dhoni had to shun singles and score in boundaries or twos to shield the tail-enders. Dhoni was out at the stroke of scheduled lunch time. He faced 167 balls and hit nine fours and two sixes in his knock, his 17th Test half century in his 41st match. He shared a crucial 51-run stand for the seventh wicket from 17.4 overs with Ishant Sharma (13) to take Indian score past 500. For India, except for Murali Vijay (30), all the specialist batsmen made 50-plus knocks. Before the start of the day, India suffered a blow as Yuvraj was ruled out of taking further part in the Test as the medical reports revealed a ligament tear on his left wrist. Dravid, who hit 111 yesterday, has already been ruled out of the Test. It was left to Dhoni to take India's first innings to a big total so that the visitors do not bat again, but with no specialist batsman at the other hand he had to ensure that he take most of the strike. To make Dhoni's job more onerous, Zaheer Khan, who can strike some lusty blows in quick time, was out in the third over of the morning without any contribution to the team total. Zaheer, who struggled to connect the ball in early moist conditions, offered a simple catch to Shahadat Hossain at fine leg after top-edging a Shafiul Islam bouncer. Ishant supported Dhoni well and he even hit three fours off Shahadat Hossain before he was out edging Mohammad Ashraful for a 32-ball 13. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim took the catch in his second attempt after the ball popped off his shoulder.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck 89 as India reached 544 for eight at lunch to take a first innings lead of 311 runs on the third day of the second and final Test here today

Dhoni misses century as India declare at 544 for 8

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Dhoni misses century as India declare at 544 for 8

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