India take firm control of second Test

KOLKATA: Wasim Jaffer slammed a majestic unbeaten 192 as India took firm control of the second cricket Test against Pakistan by laying the foundation for a mammoth first innings total here on Friday.
    
The 29-year-old Jaffer notched up his fifth Test century as he stole the limelight with some breathtaking shots while Sachin Tendulkar (82) and Rahul Dravid (50) chipped in with notable contributions to steer the home team to a commanding 352 for three at close on the opening day.
    
Local hero Sourav Ganguly (17) was giving Jaffer company when play was called off early due to bad light with 5.3 overs
still remaining to be bowled.
    
Electing to bat, the Indians lost opener Dinesh Kaarthick (1) cheaply but the other batsmen made the most of the ideal batting track at the Eden Gardens to put the team in the driver's seat.
    
Jaffer seemed to be in imperious form as he first added 136 runs with Dravid for the second wicket and then stitched 175 runs for the third wicket with Tendulkar against an insipid Pakistani bowling attack.
   
Pakistan's gamble to include Shoaib Akhtar, who had not fully recovered from a viral infection, proved quite costly as the temparamental fast bowler could manage to bowl just nine overs during the day.
    
None of the Pakistani bowlers could really make much of an impact as the Indians scored at a brisk pace to compound the misery for stand-in captain Younis Khan, who led the team after Shoaib Malik was ruled out of the match because of an ankle injury.