Ganguly reaches his 2nd fifty at Kolkata

Sohail Tanvir gave Pakistan their first wicket of the morning when he brought an end to a special knock from Jaffer. Tanvir landed it a bit outside the off stump and slanted it away from him. Jaffer stabbed at it and Akmal accepted it with glee. This was the second consecutive occasion in the Test match when Tanvir struck off his first ball of the morning. India were 375 for 4 when Jaffer departed for 202.



Jaffer's knock was the best innings by an Indian batsman against Pakistan in India. He surpassed big names like Mohammad Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Vijay Hazare when he reached his double hundred.



The batsman began the second day from where he left off the previous evening as he struck a magnificient backward punch through cover point off Shoaib Akthar to begin his scoring for the day. The ball after next, he played one past gully for four to reach his second double-century of his brief international career.



Jaffer added another 50 run partnership in the innings with Saurav Ganguly at a brisk rate of 4.43 per over. Ganguly also opened his account for the day through a typical timing-filled stroke through the off-side for four. India were 367 for three.



After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India capped a perfect day of cricket at the Eden Gardens, scoring 351 for the loss of just three wickets. The day belonged to opener Wasim Jaffer, who scored a brilliant unbeaten century and at close, the Mumbai batsman was on 192.



Jaffer looked imperious at the wicket, fairly relaxed and composed as he took charge of proceedings. He reached his fifty in fairly quick time, as he scoring three superb boundaries off Sohail Tanvir. After reaching his fifty, Jaffer seemed in complete control of his innings, taking heavy toll of anything loose from the Pakistani bowlers.



As his innings graduated, Jaffer took a special liking to Sohail Tanvir and Danish Kaneria, clobbering them through delightful ground strokes for 144 runs off 164 balls (combined). The Pakistani bowlers tried their level best to dislodge him, but the Indian opener tackled them with aplomb and poise. He now has a hundred against every opposition he has faced - West Indies, Pakistan, South Africa, England and Bangladesh.



He brought his hundred up in style, as he punched Danish Kaneria off the backfoot and through the covers for four. In the same over, he played some delightful wristy strokes for boundaries. His first century against Pakistan came off 150 balls, with 20 gorgeous hits to the fence. His last twelve runs before tea came through consecutive boundaries off Sohail Tanvir.



Jaffer's innings was written with majestic strokes in front and

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