India 1^st innings 4-323 (Virender Sehwag 117, Cheteshwar Pujara 98*, Graeme Swann 4-85) vs. England

A sparkling ton by Virender Sehwag followed by 98 runs by Cheteshwar Pujara lead India to a stable position vs. England on the 1^st day of the opening Test.

India amassed 323 runs for the loss of just four wickets at the end of the first day’s play of the 1^st Test.

The first match of the series commenced on Thursday, November 15, 2012, at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad.

MS Dhoni won the toss for India and preferred to bat on a wicket that looked comfortable for batting. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag initiated the innings for the home side in a cautious manner and scored 19 runs in the first six overs. Sehwag opened up in the next over by hitting 3 fours to James Anderson and that was the start of the brisk scoring by the batsmen. Sehwag got another couple of fours in the 17^th over, completed his fifty in the following over and Gambhir continued adding runs to his account from the other end.

Virender Sehwag punished Tim Bresnan for 2 consecutive fours followed by a six in the 19^th over and the first hundred of the innings appeared on board in the next over. Sehwag was dropped by the wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, off Anderson at 80 on the third ball of the 29^th over. Prior missed a stumping chance of Gambhir off Graeme Swann on the second ball of the 30^th over but the batsman was clean bowled three balls later for 45 runs.

The opening stand provided a solid stand of 134 runs as the young gun of India, Cheteshwar Pujara, walked in to play his 9^th Test innings of the 6^th Test and opened his account with a couple on the sixth ball he faced. Sehwag continued his onslaught and thrashed his 23^rd Test century with a four on the first ball of the 40^th over. Pujara added 11 runs three overs later with a couple of fours and reached his second Test fifty in the 49^th over. The duo enhanced the score to 224 runs when the stumps of Virender Sehwag were uprooted by Swann for 117 off even deliveries with 1 six and 15 fours.

Sachin Tendulkar came in the park next on his 23^rd anniversary of his Test career. The little master made his debut on November 15, 1989, against Pakistan at National Stadium, Karachi, and never looked back from there. He was unable to impress and was caught by Samit Patel off Swann for just 13 runs just before the tea interval. The sloppy fielding of England continued when the next batsman, Virat Kohli, was dropped on four by Jonathan Trott in the slips off Swann on the third ball of the 67^th over.

Cheteshwar Pujara stood firm at his end while accumulating useful runs as Graeme Swann struck again when he clean bowled Kohli for 19 runs when Yuvraj Singh appeared on the scene. The third hundred of the innings was achieved in the 84^th over as both batsmen continued lifting the score without taking any chances. Pujara reached 98 with 2 fours in the last over of the day and should wait for his second Test ton until tomorrow. Yuvraj Singh was unbeaten at 24 as India piled up 323 runs at the end of the 90^th over.

The England skipper, Alastair Cook, utilized five bowlers but Grame Swann was the only successful bowler who grabbed all four wickets which fell on the day.

India is in a stable position with a plenty of batting left in the innings and they will anticipate adding another 150-175 runs to find themselves dictating their terms. England will try to grasp few quick wickets in the early part of the second day to come back in the game.