302 overs after this game began, the two teams this afternoon reached the halfway stage of the match with India completing its first innings, 15 ahead of Pakistan.
At that point, the figures for the series made startling reading. Between Lahore and Faisalabad, Pakistan had made 1267 runs for the loss of just 17 wickets. That is a per wicket cost, to the Indian bowlers, of 74.52 runs.
Staggering though that is, it pales in comparison. India had at the end of its first innings made 1013 runs for the series, for the loss of 11 wickets -- each of those wickets costing Pakistan 92.09 runs.
It's not over yet -- the bowlers are still paying their dues to Agha Zahid and his team of curators.
When, late evening on a fourth day pitch, Younis Khan can feel confident enough about the bounce of the wicket to defy two slips and a silly point and cut a ball off his off stump between them to third man for four, that should pretty much say it all.
It does in fact tell you the story of another day on which India's lower order added a further 163 runs to the overnight total in 44.4 overs, before Pakistan responded with 152-1 off 43 overs at 3.53 rpo; Kamran Akmal was not out 59/121 and Younis Khan 64/103.
The Indian bowlers in the final session, seam and spin both, bowled much better lines and lengths than they had in the first innings -- but in these conditions, 'good' is relative; it merely means that they were good enough to stop the Pakistan batsmen from rocketing along at 4.5 rpo or better.
Younis Khan, with his fluid cover drives, controlled sweeps and the occasional whippy flicks through midwicket, and Kamran Akmal with his pinpoint square cutting and boisterous cover driving, had answers to almost all the questions asked, and idled along in third gear, in no seeming hurry to get anywhere in particular.
Dravid appeared to have sussed out that the faintest chance of a result here could come only if Pakistan piled up runs in a hurry, packed the off field and for the most part, his seamers backed him up, bowling to the field and making run-scoring difficult.
The pick of the bowlers was Harbhajan Singh who, backed by an aggressively set field, worked his way through his full bag of tricks. His successes -- a doosra that foxed Younis Khan; another that flirted with Kamran Akmal's edge; a big-turning off break that had Akmal dabbing hurriedly down in defense; a floated top spinner that beat the batsman for length and landed on his boot -- were many; not one of them slotted into the scoreboard though.
Against that, Anil Kumble after a very good first spell in which he tasted early success, was reduced to the pedestrian with Younis in particular hitting him at will square, on either side of the wicket -- one such checked sweep fetching the four that took the Pak vice captain to his third successive innings of 50 or more against this attack, off 75 deliveries.
With under three overs left in the day, Kamran Akmal played one of his blistering cover drives off a Kumble top spinner to bring up his own second fifty of the series, off 113 deliveries; a watchful effort that contrasted with his blitz in Lahore.
As Harbhajan floated another doosra at Younis, with slip, silly point, leg slip and short square leg waiting in hope, Waqar Younis told his fellow commentator Dean Jones that Faisalabad is a textile city particularly known for its cottons, samples of which he should pick up for his lady; Deano responded by saying he was pleasantly surprised by the rapid pace of agricultural development in those parts.
What can you say? It was that kind of evening. And it is prelude to a tomorrow when, I suspect, they will be reduced to discussing the rising price of tea in China.
Detailed report of the morning session here; the afternoon session here; and assorted other cricket stuff here.
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