OPENER Virender Sehwag struck a sparkling 152 not out as India reached 243-1 at tea on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand today.
Sehwag has hit 22 fours and a six in his 172-ball knock and shared 183 runs for the unbroken second wicket with Rahul Dravid (61) at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Indians dominated the second session, putting on 116 runs off 32 overs without losing a wicket to put pressure on the New Zealand bowlers who struggled in batsman-friendly conditions.
Sehwag brought off his 22nd Test century in style, dancing down the track to loft left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori for a four over mid-off.
Dravid, going through a lean spell with the bat this year, was dropped on 28 by wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins who failed to latch on to a low chance off the bowling of part-time medium pacer Jesse Ryder.
The veteran batsman then opened up to play some of his trademark drives, completing his 60th Test half-century and sixth against the Black Caps in the process.
The tourists also missed a golden chance to dismiss Sehwag on 144, with off-spinner Jeetan Patel failing to hold on to a catch off his own bowling.
The day belonged to Sehwag, who entertained the fans with a breathtaking array of shots all around the ground.
The dashing batsman put on 60 runs with Gautam Gambhir, the duo surpassing the 3,010-run tally of Chetan Chauhan and Sunil Gavaskar to become the most prolific opening pair for India.
Sehwag started off aggressively, hitting fast bowler Chris Martin for three fours in the third over of the day before Ryder struck to dismiss Gambhir, who inside-edged onto the leg-stump while attempting a drive.
Top-ranked India are the favourites to win the three-Test series after beating Australia 2-0 at home last month.
The second Test will be played in Hyderabad from November 12-16 and the third in Nagpur from November 20-24. The Tests will be followed by five one-day internationals from November 28.
