India v England – England tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (1st Test) – Match Recap [Day 1] – Swann keeps England in the game as Sehwag, Pujara strike
On a dry surface which showed signs of deteriorating as the match progressed, England struggled to tackle the challenges posed by centurion http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 remaining the only bowler who managed
to make any dents in the host team’s batting order – by stumps on day one (November 15) of the ongoing first Test, India eventually finished at 323 for 4.
India won the toss and chose to bat first at the Sardar http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ST-Finn-c2566 – and one specialist spinner
in Swann. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Monty-Panesar-c2024 remained on the sidelines.
Spin was among the most dominant points of discussion prior to the commencement of the series, and continued to be a prominent factor once the match commenced. England’s pacers failed to manipulate the track successfully, and Swann (32-5-85-4) remained the
only one who managed to get any breakthroughs for the Poms.
The Indian batsmen, meanwhile, appeared to be at ease, for the most part. The hosts opened their innings with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/G-Gambhir-c1447 and veteran batsman Virender Sehwag. Gambhir managed an individual contribution of 45, but Sehwag was the driving force behind the
earlier part of Team India’s innings, and smashed a run-a-ball 117, including 1 six and 15 fours. By lunch, India were at 120, and England’s bowlers remained wicketless.
The opening partnership between both batsmen yielded 134 runs, and came to an end after lunch with the dismissal of Gambhir who was bowled by Swann in the 30th over. Having achieved the first breakthrough, England set about looking for another,
but the next batsman to step up to the crease was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CA-Pujara-c1209 (98*).
His 90-run partnership with Sehwag came to an end in the 51st over, when Swann finally managed to dislodge the veteran batsman. However, Pujara took it from there, and dominated the remainder of day one, remaining unbeaten by stumps.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 managed to remain unbeaten on 24, and his 40*-run
partnership with Pujara got India up to 323 for 4 by stumps on day 1.
Faced with concerns regarding the pitch, and with doubts hovering over the potency of their bowling attack, day two will see the tourists looking to rein in the host team, after which a tough trial in playing spin awaits the England batsmen. India, on the
other hand, will be aiming to work their way up to a solid total, after having failed to capitalise fully on the foundation provided by Sehwag.
Tags: