Rawalpindi: It was the batsmen’s turn to dominate and at the end of Day II, India were firmly in control of the third and deciding Test as Pakistan ran into ‘The Wall’.

Rahul Dravid’s gritty unbeaten 132, his 17th Test hundred and first against Pakistan, helped India to a healthy 342 for four. A lead of 118, with three days to play, puts India on course to a first-ever Test series triumph on Pakistan soil.

Dravid has now hit a century against all but one Test nation, Bangladesh.

Opener Parthiv Patel (69), V.V.S. Laxman (71) and skipper Sourav Ganguly (batting 53) also played their part superbly. Only Sachin Tendulkar (1) missed out.

Vice-captain Dravid, who came to the crease after Virender Sehwag’s first-ball dismissal on Tuesday, played with characteristic determination and concentration, showing great responsibility in anchoring the Indian essay.

It was a frustrating day for Pakistan, who found the going tough against the strong Indian batting line-up despite dismissing Tendulkar cheaply. The home side did not help its cause by dropping catches, including that of Dravid when he was on 71.

Bowling consistently over 150 kmph, Shoaib Akhtar produced a fine exhibition of fast bowling in three spells. He was the pick of the bowlers with three for 47, but had to leave the field in the post-tea session after falling on his follow through in his 22nd over, hurting his left hand.

Shoaib is expected to bowl on Thursday, the injury being external. The fast bowler hurt his left wrist and though he bowled one more over with a bandage, he left the field subsequently before returning 40 minutes later.Earlier, India slumped to 130 for three from a comfortable 129 for one shortly after lunch with Patel and Tendulkar falling in quick succession.

But Dravid and Laxman consolidated the innings yet again with a fine mixture of caution and aggression. The duo put on 131 for the fourth wicket before Shoaib sent Laxman’s middle stump flying with a furious full toss.

Sourav, in next, looked to be in superb touch as he accelerated the run-rate with a barrage of shots while Dravid went on playing second fiddle.

This morning, with India seeking to see off the first hour after resuming on 23 for one, Patel and Dravid played sensibly, collecting their runs without taking any risk on a track which had eased out to a great extent after offering a lot of assistance to pace bowlers on the opening day.

Barring a couple of leg-before shouts and the odd play-and-miss, Mohammed Sami and Shoaib failed to trouble the Indian pair. The dependable Dravid, who had not managed a big score in the first two Tests, executed the first confident shot by elegantly flicking Shoaib to the fine-leg fence.

The diminutive Patel also looked comfortable in the middle and unleashed some delightful shots on both sides of the wicket after getting his eye in. Sami was hit for two consecutive boundaries to bring up India’s 50.

Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, brought on just before the drinks break, bowled a tidy line and length, but hardly troubled the Indian batsmen.

Patel, who middled the ball quite well during his 203-minute vigil, edged Fazle Akbar and Kamran Akmal took a fine diving catch behind the stumps. Patel’s 141-ball knock contained ten boundaries.

Soon after, Tendulkar returned joined Patel in the pavilion, falling to Shoaib’s first delivery after the lunch break. Shoaib caught Tendulkar by surprise with a sharp rising delivery and the master batsman couldn’t get his bat out of harm’s way to give Akmal another victim.

The fall of two quick wickets did not seem to have any effect on the unflappable Dravid and the elegant Laxman who provided glimpses of his Australian form with some trademark wristy shots. He was particularly aggressive after tea, smashing one boundary after another to help his team overtake Pakistan’s first innings total without any further casualty.

Dravid got a reprieve on 71 as Yasir Hameed dropped a regulation catch at gully off Sami.