AHMEDABAD, India (AP)—Opener Virender Sehwag scored an unbeaten 87 from 84 deliveries to help India reach 127 for one at lunch Thursday on the opening day of the first cricket test against New Zealand.
Sehwag stroked 15 boundaries and was involved in useful stands with Gautam Gambhir (21) and Rahul Dravid (12 not out) that put India in a strong position after it won the toss and elected to bat at the Sardar Patel Stadium.Sehwag timed the ball well from early on, taking three fours through the off side against Chris Martin in the third over.
He welcomed first-change bowler Jesse Ryder with a lofted four over mid-on and smashed him straight down the ground for another boundary off the next delivery. A drive through the cover region off Jeetan Patel took him to his 50, and he continued in the same vein.
India, boosted by the return of Gambhir and VVS Laxman, had to drop Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay, who contributed in a test win over Australia at Bangalore last month.
Skipper Daniel Vettori, playing his 100th test for New Zealand, is the only one in his side to have played a test in India before. The inexperienced side also has two players making their debuts—batsman Kane Williamson and pace bowler Hamish Bennett.
Top-ranked India is the favorite in the three-test series, having just beaten Australia 2-0 in a two-test home series. Hyderabad and Nagpur will host the remaining two matches.
