1st Test: Sehwag, Pujara lift India on opening day

Swann takes four but hosts reach 323-4.

Graeme Swann took all four Indian wickets to fall after Virendar Sehwag launched the series in style with a run-a-ball 117 to assert the hosts’ supremacy after the opening day of the first Test.

Sehwag smashed 15 fours and a six and shared a 134-run opening stand with Gautam Gambhir as England’s fast-bowlers failed to make inroads. Following Gambhir’s dismissal, the opener was joined by Cheteshwar Pujara in a 90-run stand. Although Swann managed to pull back some respectability for the hosts, India’s dominance on the opening day was clear from Sehwag’s onslaught. The off-spinner had words of praise for Sehwag.

“It was a tough first session,” said Swann. “We know Sehwag can bat like that and he was superb for the first two hours. It was important getting him out and I thought we bounced back very well in that second session.”

Series hit by coverage blackout

Meanwhile, international news agencies suspended coverage of the Test series after Indian cricket authorities refused to lift restrictions on photo agencies.

News outlets including AFP said they would not be filing any text or pictures from the four-match series after the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) barred photo agencies such as Getty Images and Action Images. English media organisations such as The Daily Telegraph and the Press Association also said they would support the protest.

The BCCI is to make a limited number of its own images available during the series, which began in Ahmedabad on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the BCCI on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2012.