Sehwag, Gambhir give India a rollicking start

Amlan Chakraborty
Kanpur, Nov 24 (PTI) Twin half-centuries from Virender
Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir underlined India's domination of the
morning session as the hosts cruised to 131 for no loss at
lunch on the opening day of the second cricket Test against
Sri Lanka here Tuesday.

Beneficiary of a dropped catch when he was yet to open
his account, Sehwag shrugged off his early shakiness to amble
to his 20th Test half-century and remained unbeaten after a
73-ball 70 that had eight fours and two sixes in it.
Gambhir, meanwhile, reached the fifty mark for the 11th
time in his career and looked impregnable during his 84-ball
59, studded with seven fours.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not fancy batting in the fourth
innings, especially when world's highest wicket-taker Muttiah
Muralitharan lurks in the rival camp and it was the precise
guiding principle behind the India captain's decision to bat
first. However, Sehwag's early hit-and-miss, in stark contrast
to Gambhir's poise, left the camp uneasy.
In all, Sehwag survived one split sitter and three
vociferous LBW appeals in the first hour itself.
The first ball he connected was a swish and Mahela
Jayawardene, unsighted by a diving Prasanna Jayawardene,
grassed a sitter in the first slip off Chamara Welegedara.
Even when Sehwag connected, it was not the usual musical
note of his willow but a jarring thud that exposed his
struggle to find the meat of the bat. MORE PTI AY
ANU


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