By IANS,
Wellington : Virender Sehwag mocked at New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori’s decision to bowl first, hammering 48 off 51 balls before he and his fellow-opener Gautam Gambhir fell in quick succession, and India went to lunch at 101 for two on the first day of the third cricket Test here Friday.
At the break, Rahul Dravid was batting on nine and Sachin Tendulkar at 16.
Vettori’s gamble of using the first morning’s conditions at the windy Basin Reserve looked like coming unstuck when Sehwag and Gambhir rattled up 65 runs in the first hour.
Soon on resumption after drinks, the two Wellington bowlers Iain O’Brien and James Frabklin struck to somewhat save the situation.
Sehwag went after the recalled Tim Southee just as he had done in the third one-dayer at Christchurch when the young seam bowler was hit for 105 runs off his 10 overs and banished for the rest of the series.
Sehwag hit seven fours and a six to reach 48 off 51 balls before he was cramped for space to cut O’Brien and a thick edge went straight to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum in the 16th over.
Nine balls later, Franklin not only ended Gambhir’s stay at the wicket, but also a stretch of 69 overs without a wicket in the series. He trapped Gambhir leg before wicket for 23, umpire Simon Taufel upholding the appeal as Gambhir was well forward and outside the crease at the time of the impact. The replays showed the off-cutter would have clipped the top of the middle stump.
The loss of both openers in quick succession slowed the run-rate considerably as Rahul Dravid (9) and Sachin Tendulkar (16) go down to make sure that the Indians went to lunch without further damage.
As the batsmen got cautious, O’Brien bowled the innings’ first maiden in the 18th over and Franklin the second in the next over.
O’Brien and Franklin bowled six overs each in the morning session and conceded 12 and 10 runs for their wicket apiece.
Vettori’s ploy to bowl first so that he could bat when the pitch was at its best was undone by some wayward bowling by Southee.
After Gambhir clipped Southee’s first ball of the Test to the mid wicket boundary, Sehwag treated the fast bowler shabbily by uppercutting him for a six over third man.
Southee’s first six overs cost 40 and was hit for two more fours by Tendulkar in his last over before lunch.