Ind NZ T1 Day 1 post lunch: Virender Sehwag Scores Century; NZ in For a Grind

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Sreelata YellamrazuNov 4 2010

Virender Sehwag was becoming a larger figure at the crease as New Zealand was shown what a grind the India tour could be around lunch on the first day of the first Test of the India New Zealand series at the Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

virender sehwag against nz

India lost Gautam Gambhir relatively early to an unlikely bowler in Jesse Ryder but it did not dent them by any stretch of the imagination. With Virender Sehwag at the crease and an appetizing New Zealand bowling on offer, there was little doubt that a feast was in order. And that is exactly what Sehwag made of the first session of play.

It was a session of contrasts as post lunch even as Sehwag was batting at a run a ball on 130, Rahul Dravid looks to be visibly struggling to time his shots, scoring just seventeen runs from 108 balls. But what has kept the New Zealand team down has been the ease and command with which Sehwag was timing his shots, playing his game and dictating terms to the New Zealand bowlers.

With a century to his name, Sehwag appears to be slowing down only marginally, perhaps succumbing to the heat and struggling plausibly from cramps, but with Dravid crawling his way in the century stand for the second wicket, the only way India are going to keep New Zealand down is by frustrating them by not giving away their wickets while Sehwag once again gives Indian fans the hope of a long Sehwag innings.

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