Sehwag, Gambhir score tons on opening day

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 25, 2009

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Rahul Bajaj

Kanpur: Sri Lanka was left to rue the life that they gave to Virender Sehwag in the very first over of the game when Mahela Jayawardene dropped a sitter. Sehwag was yet to score at that time and he eventually went on to smash 131 runs off 122 balls while his opening partner Gautam Gambhir scored his seventh century in nine tests as the two openers ran the Sri Lankan team ragged on a day when India notched up their highest first day score in a test match eventually ending the day at 417 for 2.

At the draw of stumps, another century was just around the corner ,with Rahul Dravid within touching distance of his second century in as many tests. He was unbeaten on 85 with Sachin Tendulkar (20 not out) giving him company.

Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in what looked like a brave decision, considering the pitch seemed to have a tinge of grass on it. It was expected that the ball will move around at least for the first couple of hours but the conditions just flattered to deceive. The ball did move a little bit in the first over bowled by Chanaka Welegedara and he managed to induce a false shot from Virender Sehwag with the opener chasing a wide delivery and edging it to first slip but Mahela Jayawardene couldn’t latch on to a simple catch. After that the Sri Lankan bowlers just found out that the only thing green about the Green Park is its name!

The Indian batsmen showed restraint in the first hour of play. But once the spinners were introduced, it was a run feast at the Green Park in Kanpur. It was not only the number of runs that India scored but the manner in which they were scored. The Indian batsmen were almost doing what they wished as they literally played around with the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Sri Lanka in fact were let down badly by their spinners. The pitch was expected to turn square once the match progressed and that made Sri Lanka go in with three front ine spinners. But Sehwag and Gambhir put up a breathtaking display of aggressive batting, never letting them settle down as they scored 73 off nine overs of spin before lunch itself.

It was also a day for the record books as India notched up more than 400 runs in a day for the first time ever, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag added 233 for the opening wicket — their highest for India, Gautam Gambhir scored his fourth century in as many test matches (his seventh in nine matches) taking him to an elite club of batsmen who have scored four centuries in four matches.

Sehwag was eventually dismissed for 131 off 122 balls which included 18 fours and two sixes as he tried to drive Murali inside-out and was caught at cover by Dilshan. Gambhir then continued to pile on the runs in the company of Rahul Dravid. Dravid looked comfortable right from the word go. He was watchful when needed but didn’t back out to attack when he got the opportunity, once again displaying his calibre and the mistake that India has made by keeping him out of the one-day team.

Gambhir then went on to complete his 150 before he was dismissed for 167, just before the close of play, caught and bowled by Muralitharan. Murali ended the day with figures of 2 for 100 and even he would agree that both those wickets were more by chance than him beating the batsmen.

Rahul Dravid (85 not out) and Sachin Tendulkar (20 not out) made sure that India ended the day without any more hiccups. With 417 for 2 and still a lot of batting to come, India have put themselves into a perfect position to put Sri Lanka under pressure for the rest of the game.

Brief Scores:

India 417 for 2 (Gambhir 167, Sehwag, 131, Dravid 85*) v Sri Lanka

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