A series dominated by the bat

Ten hundreds - including two doubles - in three Tests, with three batsmen averaging more than 100; only 90 wickets falling in more than 7000 deliveries, each at a cost of nearly 45 runs; just one bowler managing a haul of more than ten wickets at an average of less than 30 - there's little doubt that this three-Test series between India and Pakistan was one in which bat held sway over ball, despite the dramatic collapse in the last 30 minutes of the last Test. India only managed a 1-0 verdict, but they dominated far more than that, averaging more than 56 per wicket - 20 more than Pakistan's average - scoring at more than four an over, and notching up 16 of the 26 fifty-plus scores in the series. (Click here for the batting and bowling averages for India, and here for Pakistan.)

The importance of a sound opening partnership is usually of paramount importance, but throughout this series the Indians managed huge totals despite poor starts. The one aspect where Pakistan's batsmen outdid India was at the top of the order - Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed didn't have hugely successful series, but they gave their team useful starts almost every time, averaging 41 per partnership.

Where the Indians completely stole the show, though, was in the lower middle order. Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Irfan Pathan were in such splendid form that India's average partnership for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets were all in excess of 100.

Pakistan's lower middle order propped them up too, but they relied much more on two batsmen - the duo of Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal drove India to distraction, putting together 442 runs in five innings at an average of 88.20.

The two stand-out performers of the series were Ganguly and Misbah. Ganguly has been in outstanding form this year, and his aggregate of 534 made him only the second Indian, after Virender Sehwag, to score more than 500 in a three-Test series against Pakistan. It also lifted his tally for 2007 to 1023, only 102 behind the leader Jacques Kallis. He improved his average against Pakistan to a healthy 47.47 from 12 Tests; only against Australia, South Africa and West Indies does he average less than 40.

The 33-year-old Misbah, meanwhile, is doing an excellent job of making up for lost time. He scored 25% of his team's runs, and lifted his average from 17.25 to nearly 42 in the space of just two Tests.

For two other batsmen, though, the series didn't bring such rich rewards. Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Yousuf have generally been prolific in the three previous India-Pakistan series, but this time they were completely overshadowed by the other batsmen in the line-up.

Misbah had few problems against India's specialist bowlers - Munaf Patel was the only one among them who dismissed him in the series, while Misbah averaged a staggering 418 against them. Against the part-timers, though, he had a tougher time, falling once each to Ganguly and Yuvraj, and averaging a paltry 23 against them.

Kumble was the most feared bowler for most Pakistan batsmen, but none of them struggled more against him than Yasir Hameed: in 53 deliveries, he fell to Kumble five times, at an average of 7.80. In 230 balls against the others, he was dismissed only once, by Zaheer Khan.