Jamshed's ton instrumental in helping Pakistan win series
Pakistan's opener, Nasir Jamshed, scored another century to help his side wrap up the ODI series against India with an 85-run win at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Jamshed's century is his second of the ODI series and his third against India.
The 23-year-old shared a 141-run opening stand with Mohammad Hafeez, which ended in the 24th over when Hafeez - attempting to sweep Ravindra Jadeja - missed and was bowled for 76 from 74 balls.
The pitch, at Eden Gardens, aided bowlers early on and was not an easy deck to score on, especially for new batsmen. But Jamshed and Hafeez capitalised on loose deliveries from India's bowlers.
Jamshed notched up his fifty from 55 deliveries, with nine boundaries, while the Hafeez-Jamshed combine put on their fourth century stand in nine innings.
After Hafeez' departure, Jamshed struggled to time the ball, but still kept going and reached three figures from 120 balls with 14 boundaries. Pakistan's captain Misbah-ul-Haq said Jamshed has the temperament to deal with pressure.
"What's good is the maturity he is showing as a youngster," Misbah told The News. "He has all the shots, but the temperament he is showing right now is what he will make him a very good player in future."
Junaid Khan - 3 for 39
Pakistan's left-arm fast bowler, Junaid Khan, bowled his heart out in an opening spell of 7-1-18-2, taking out Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli.
Junaid, who picked up four wickets in the first ODI in Chennai, continued his wicket-taking ways at Eden Gardens, as well, this time scalping 3 for 39 at 4.33.
Junaid's was the standout bowler. He displayed superb control and beat the outside edge on numerous occasions. It wasn't unusually good deliveries that got him his wickets, though it could be said he had persevered enough to earn some luck.
The 23-year-old was the pick of the bowlers early on, while offspinner Saeed Ajmal did the damage in the later stages by picking up three and Umar Gul two.
"The bowlers are really doing a great job, especially Junaid who is moving it both ways and asking questions of the batsmen," Misbah said. "Irfan has his height, Gul also bowled well today, and Ajmal and Hafeez always deliver for us.
"We have the edge in the quality of our bowling. Indian batsmen are struggling for quite a long time. But I think our bowlers exploited the conditions better. Normally we get flat pitches here in India. But both the pitches - in Chennai and Kolkata - were challenging for batsmen," he said.