MOHALI, 10 March 2005 — Rain and a delayed start because of it on the second day of the first Test may have dampened the enthusiasm of the waiting crowd but it certainly did not influence the spirit of the free hitting Indian opener Virendar Sehwag who put the Pakistan’s inept bowling attack to sword while making an unbeaten 95 as India in reply to Pakistan’s 312 in the first innings finished the day’s play with 184 for one in only two and half hours play possible.

Incessant rain in the morning session had kept the players in till after lunch but when a start was made at 2.20 p.m. the crowd had already taken their seats. What followed next was something to savor. To make up for the lost time the Indian openers Gautum Gambhir and Sehwag then took charge of the crease to frustrate and punish the Pakistan bowling. Their frailty was glaringly exposed as they put on 113 runs for the first wicket in only 78 minutes.

Mohammad Sami and Naved ul-Hassan were both made to look ordinary once Sehwag was dropped when 15 in the third slip by Taufiq Umar off Sami. The fifty of the Indian innings came in only the ninth over and the hundred not much later after lunch in the sixteenth.

Gambhir and Sehwag both flayed the wayward Sami and Naved as the crowd time and again rose to its feet cheering the spectacle in awe as Sehwag cut , drove and hooked with relish to reach his fifty with seven fours and a six and in only 49 balls. His stand with Gambhir ended when Danish Kaneria, who was the only bowler to be shown any respect, had Gambhir caught at mid-on by Naved ul-Hassan when the batsman had made 41 with the help of seven fours.

With Rahul Dravid, the next man in, Sehwag continued to bat like a free soul hitting the ball hard and timing it with perfection. Lucky too that he was once again spilled when 82 off Kaneria by Younis Khan in the only slip.

With Dravid “The Wall”, Sehwag showed little if any respect to the Pakistani bowlers except Kaneria who kept on pegging in to keep the batsman in two minds.

Fading light resulted in the game being called off with 10 overs still remaining but not before Sehwag had made 95 having struck twelve fours and a six in an exhilarating display of strokeplay. Dravid in his own quier way had scored 39. India are 128 runs still in arrears and if the weather is kind today a total of over 450 will not be beyond India. Pakistan has tough days ahead and they will have to make sure to restrict the Indian lead to a minimum. Dropped catches do not help and they know it well.

Sehwag at the end of the day’s play said, “The Pakistanis did not bowl on the right spots and I took advantage of their wayward bowling.”

Sehwag Sounds a

Warning to Pakistan

Swashbuckling Sehwag sounded a warning to Pakistan, saying he would continue to bat in the same attacking vein to put his team in a winning position in the first Test, AFP adds.

“I aim to bat throughout the day on Thursday,” Sehwag said after smashing a quickfire 95 not out.

“A lot of times, you throw away the initiative by losing your wicket. I remember getting out for 195 in Melbourne (in 2003) which left my team struggling. I don’t want a repeat of that.” Sehwag struck one six and 12 fours in his ninth Test half-century to dominate an inexperienced Pakistani attack.

“I batted no differently from the way I usually do,” Sehwag said.

“If we bat for another five-six sessions we will be able to exert pressure on Pakistan,” he said.

“Bad weather had already snatched a possible win from us against Australia last year,” he added referring to India’s second Test against Adam Gilchrist’s side at Madras, where the hosts were in a winning position before rain came on the final day.

The hard-hitting opener, dropped on 15 and 82, capitalized on the chances to demoralize the Pakistani attack, much to the delight of nearly 20,000 spectators.

“Those were good balls but you get your chances in matches and it’s up to you to capitalize on them. I did precisely that,” he said.

Sehwag said he did not believe that the Pakistani bowling was weak in the absence of express paceman Shoaib Akhtar, who did not make the tour due to a hamstring injury.

“They (Pakistan) have a good bowling attack, but they did not put the ball in right areas,” said Sehwag.

Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq conceded letting off Sehwag twice affected his team’s chances of putting pressure on India.

“We should have held those catches and giving Sehwag two chances put paid to our good efforts,” said Inzamam.