India collapsed to 140-5 at tea on the final day, to give Pakistan hope of a Test series-levelling win in Bangalore.

Gautam Gambhir (52) was unlucky to be adjudged leg before off Mohammad Sami, and Arshad Khan had Rahul Dravid caught at silly point soon after lunch.

Shahid Afridi then trapped VVS Laxman lbw and bowled captain Sourav Ganguly, to leave Sachin Tendulkar - now India’s top scorer in Tests - to save the game.

Earlier, Virender Sehwag was run out by a direct hit from Abdul Razzaq for 38.

No team has ever scored more than 276 (West Indies in 1987) in the second innings to win a Test in India - but the way Sehwag was playing, that record was in danger.

He struck Razzaq for three successive fours and then smashed leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to the cover boundary.

Gambhir pulled Kaneria over square-leg as India stepped up the pace, but the left-hander was fortunate when Razzaq had a confident shout for a catch behind in the third over of the morning.

Umpire Simon Taufel gave him the benefit of the doubt, but television replays showed the ball had come off the edge of Gambhir’s bat. Pakistan had their only breakthrough of the morning when Sehwag was sent back by his partner and Razzaq found the target from mid-on.

The tourists then got a lucky break themselves at the start of the afternoon session.

Sami’s delivery, which curved in beautifully, appeared to come off an inside edge before hitting Gambhir on his front pad, but Billy Bowden had no hesitation in putting his finger up.

That brought in Tendulkar, who went ahead of Gavaskar in the list of Test run-scorers when he drove Sami down the ground and scraped a single with an edge that failed to carry to slip.

Off-spinner Arshad was brought on in place of the paceman and he struck with his third delivery.

Dravid pushed forward and the ball came off pad and bat before being pouched by a diving Younis Khan.

Laxman got off the mark with a delightful drive to the mid-off boundary but it got worse for India Afridi was introduced into the attack.

The leg-spinner bowled a quick one which straightened and hit Laxman right in front to give Taufel the easiest decision of the day.

India desperately needed a big innings from Ganguly, who has been totally out of form, but he did not last long.

Afridi found prodigious turn to clean him up with a delivery that pitched well outside the off stump.

Only 38 runs had come at the cost of four wickets in the session and the pressure was getting to even Tendulkar.

He turned a rising Sami delivery to short-leg where Yasir Hameed got a hand to it but let it slip from his grasp.

Having been given that left-off, the question now was whether Tendulkar - who was also struggling to get the bowlers away - could find enough support from the tail after tea.

Pakistan 1st innings 570 (Younis Khan 267, Inzamam-ul-Haq 184; Harbhajan Singh 6-152)

India 1st innings 449 (V. Sehwag 201, V. Laxman 79 not out; Danish Kaneria 5-127, Mohammad Sami 3-106)

Pakistan 2nd innings 261-2 decl (Younis Khan 84 not out, Yasir Hameed 76, Shahid Afridi 58)

G. Gambhir lbw b Sami 52

V. Sehwag run out 38

R. Dravid c Younis c Arshad 16

S. Tendulkar not out 11

V. Laxman lbw b Afridi 5

S. Ganguly b Afridi 2

D. Karthik not out 1

Extras (b8, lb4, nb3) 15

Fall of wickets: 1-87, 2-108, 3-118, 4-127, 5-135.

Bowling: Sami 15-5-45-1, Razzaq 13-3-34-0, Kaneria 19-9-33-0, Afridi 9-0-10-2, Arshad 8-6-6-1.

Overs: 64