Wasim Jaffer closed in on his second double-century as India exposed Pakistan's bowling limitations to reach a healthy 352-3 on the opening day of the second Test yesterday.
The opener gave a superb exhibition of strokeplay to make an unbeaten 192 for his fifth hundred after India elected to bat on a flat track at Eden Gardens.
The 29-year-old Jaffer added 136 for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid (50) and 175 for the next with Sachin Tendulkar (82) to put his team on course for a big total after the second-over dismissal of Dinesh Karthik (1).
PHOTO: AFP
Sourav Ganguly was batting on 17 when bad light stopped play.
Jaffer reached his hundred with an aggressive shot, punching leg-spinner Danish Kaneria through the covers for his 18th boundary. He has so far struck 32 fours in his 255-ball knock.
Pakistan, grappling with injuries and illness to key players on Thursday, went into the match with four specialist bowlers but their gamble with semi-fit fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar backfired.
Akhtar, hospitalized on Tuesday for a chest infection, hardly looked at his best in short spells. He bowled four overs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three in the evening without taking a wicket.
Pacemen Mohammad Sami and Sohail Tanvir along with Kaneria were unable to maintain pressure on Jaffer, Tendulkar and Dravid on a first-day pitch having neither pace nor turn.
Jaffer, who scored a half-century in the last match, looked in good form from the beginning as he drove, cut and flicked with authority. He severely punished Tanvir during his attractive knock, hammering the bowler for 18 fours.
Tanvir and Kaneria have already conceded more than 100 runs.
Worse still for Pakistan, they failed to cash in on a chance that came their way when wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped Tendulkar on 28 off Sami in the first over after the tea break.
With the Pakistani attack lacking penetration, Tanvir was asked to bowl left-arm spin in the last session, but Jaffer and Tendulkar continued to gather runs with ease.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS