Lankan bowlers get a pasting at Kanpur

Sa’adi Thawfeeq reporting from India

Virendra Sehwag drives off the back foot during his entertaining knock of 131

KANPUR: Sri Lankan bowlers received a pasting on a perfect batting track at Green Park where India buoyed by a record double century opening partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag finished the first day of the second cricket Test strongly placed at 417-2 here yesterday.
In-the-mood Sehwag was unstoppable and no amount of field changes could curb him from scoring boundaries at will. It was actually a run feast at Green Park as the Indian batting rattled off runs at an average of over five an over. Anyone walking into the venue would have wondered whether it was a one-day match that was in progress instead of a five-day Test. It took a fine diving catch to his left at extra cover by Dilshan to end Sehwag’s breathtaking innings. Muralitharan who came for some harsh treatment was duly rewarded with the wicket in his tenth over having conceded 65 runs. Sehwag’s 16th Test hundred and his second against Sri Lanka came off 122 balls and comprised 18 fours and two sixes. The three hours he was at the wicket he gave the virtually packed stadium value for money.
Sehwag and Gambir added 233 for the first wicket which was a new record erasing the previous highest in the series between the two countries of 171 by Manoj Prabhakar and Navjot Sidhu at the SSC in 1993. The pair scored runs at will on a beautiful batting track that had nothing on it for the bowlers. They ran between the wickets fast and there were also plenty of open spaces for them to get the boundaries. The scoring rate hovered at five an over and that was expected when a batsman of Sehwag’s aggressive nature was at the wicket. But Gambir also taking the gambit from his senior partner kept pace with him.

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