Jaffer puts in India in command

A majestic century by Wasim Jaffer, against what looked like a meek Pakistani attack, put India on top on day one of the second Test between the neighbors at Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

Jaffer, who remained unbeaten at the end of the day on 192, shared two century stands, the first one with Rahul Dravid and the second with Sachin Tendulkar, to take India to 352-3 at the end of play.

Pakistan, going into the match without their skipper Shoaib Malik, and with a Shoaib Akhtar not at his fittest having suffered from the flu and able to bowl just nine overs, looked unimpressive throughout.

With Akhtar out, the stand-in captain Younis Khan had trouble with his bowlers, as all of them were battered through different parts of the Eden Gardens by Jaffer and Tendulkar.

Sohail Tanvar, who started off the day on a good note dismissing Dinesh Karthick for just one, ended up going almost five an over.

Danish Kaneria, the only other bowler to pick up wickets, did not look threatening as well, managing to trouble just Dravid with his leg breaks, while Jaffer played him out easily.

One of the two wickets that Kaneria did snatch, that of Dravid, who somehow reached his 50, was also a result of a poor decision, as Billy Doctrove adjudged the former Indian skipper out caught behind, even though TV replays clearly showed that there was no edge.

Kaneria’s second wicket was that of Tendulkar, but not before the masterblaster had dominated a good part of the second session of the day. However, on 82, Tendulkar suffered a lapse of concentration and was fooled by a googly from Kaneria which he failed to read.

All throughout though, Jaffer seemed to be oozing with confidence, scraping boundaries with ease, even when approaching the milestone. His 15 runs from 85 to 100 included three boundaries, all notched up with class and confidence.

Jaffer continued on his own stylish way to the end of the day called in the 85th over because of bad light, sharing an unbeaten 39-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, who was not out on 15.

India 352-3
Wasim Jaffer 192*, Rahul Dravid 50, Sachin Tendulkar 82
Danish Kaneria 2-126