Ahmedabad, November 4
It was one thing that the New Zealanders did not want right at the start of the series-- Virender Sehwag at his ominous best, bludgeoning the bowlers and, in the process, setting the tone for the remainder of the Test series. Sehwag produced a knock of belligerence, yet it had its fair share of deft touches and classy glides through the slip cordon. He was both brutal and sublime. When on strike, the Najafgarh Marauder was at his dominating best, but he was also prepared to be patient when Rahul Dravid was taking his time to settle down at the other end.

Contrasting centuries by Sehwag, Dravid India in firm control on Day 1 Dravid completes 30th career ton, goes ahead of Don Bradman Sehwag gets his 22nd century Relentless day for Kiwi bowlers India 329 for 3 at stumps Sachin 87 short of 50th Test ton

When Sehwag finally fell, about an hour before stumps, he had struck 24 boundaries and a six in his knock of 173. And, by close of play on the opening day of the first Test here, India had reached 329 for the loss of three wickets with Sachin Tendulkar (13) and VVS Laxman (7) at the crease. Dravid was the other centurion of the day with 104 against his name. It was the 22nd Test ton for Sehwag, 30th for Dravid and the two put on 237 for the second wicket.

In the first session of the day, Sehwag was so dominating that there was every chance of his reaching his century by lunch itself. That he went into the break unbeaten on 87 was partly due to his partner-Rahul Dravid's--slow approach at the other end that denied Sehwag much of the strike. Only four batsmen in the history of Test cricket have reached their hundred in the first session itself — Victor Trumper, CG Macartney, Don Bradman and Majid Khan. Sehwag himself has come perilously close to becoming the fifth on previous occasions as well. (During India's tour of the West Indies in 2006, Sehwag ended up unbeaten on 99 at lunch in the Test match in St Lucia). If his flamboyant style is any indication, it seems only a matter of time before Sehwag ultimately does become the fifth player in Test history to achieve this rare target.

However, Sehwag's powerful knock had two blemishes. Both came when he was well past his hundred. Off-spinner Jeetan Patel failed to hold on to a difficult return catch when Sehwag was on 144. And, when he was on 155, substitute Martin Guptill dropped an easy skied opportunity. The bowler to suffer was debutant Williamson. By this stage, Sehwag was beginning to tire as well and came out with a runner (Gambhir) after the tea interval. At his personal score of 173, Sehwag was finally dismissed, bowled by Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori.

At the other end, Rahul Dravid was his usual grafting self---slow and scratchy to begin with, sedate afterwards. Dravid got a life too--he was dropped by keeper Gareth Hopkins off the bowling of Jesse Ryder, when on 28. Whereas Sehwag's hundred came in 111 balls, Dravid's took 215 deliveries. But the important thing for the Karnataka batsman is the fact that he is back amongst the runs and with the Indian team's imminent tour of South Africa next month, it augurs well for the batting line-up. In the final hour of play, Dravid was bowled by Chris Martin after scoring 104.

In the morning, captain Dhoni called correctly (for a change) to win his first toss in a long time and predictably, chose to bat. The Indians decided to give Ishant Sharma some more time to regain full fitness and persevered with Sreesanth. Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag took the score to 60 without loss when indiscretion got the better of the Delhi southpaw. Gambhir tried to play an expansive shot off Jesse Ryder and was bowled through the gate after doing the initial hardwork.

The story about the first day was mostly about Sehwag, but the one for the second day could be about master batsman Tendulkar, who is just one big knock away from his 50th Test ton. That big knock could come tomorrow.

Scoreboard
India (1st innings)
Gambhir b Ryder 21
Sehwag b Vettori 173
Dravid b Martin 104
Tendulkar not out 13
Laxman not out 7
Extras (b 5, lb 2, w 1, nb 3) 11
Total (3 wkts; 90 overs) 329
Bowling: Martin 16-2-52-1, Bennett 15-2-47-0, Vettori 28-3-69-1, Ryder 10-1-44-1, Patel 13-1-79-0, Williamson 8-0-31-0.

Ahmedabad, November 4
One thing is guaranteed when you go to Virender Sehwag's media briefing---that it will certainly not be a dull affair. Like his batting, his quotes too are racy and exciting. After the day's play, Sehwag was asked to say something about Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test ton, when that comes. "Abhi nazar mat lagao. Let him reach there first. Then well talk about it," was Sehwag's succinct reply.

This was not all and there was another one coming up shortly. "Do you keep a track about your score when you are batting?," was another question hurled at him. "Rakhna parta hai. Scorer galti bhi toh kar sakta hai," said sehwag.

There was a moment in the game today when Chris Martin bowled a no-ball and Sehwag gestured towards the umpire to give a free-hit. "We have been playing so many T20's and ODI's that it was an instinct thing. Moreover, it was light moment. We had a little laugh about it and carried on. Test cricket can be fun as well," remarked Sehwag.

On the more serious side of things, Sehwag said his injury today is not serious at all. "I fell down while going for a run and hurt my right knee. I continued batting but at tea I fell some pain and decided to go in for a runner. But it's nothing serious," explained Sehwag.

"The wicket is on the slow side. It is easy to bat on. Not much movement off the seam. But you have to be patient and pick the right ball to hit. The New Zealand bowling attack here is inexperienced (apart from Vettori) and I took advantage of that fact. We are looking for a first innings score of around 550 and I feel the wicket will turn as the match goes on," Sehwag said about the team's gameplan from here on.

Today Sehwag and Rahul Dravid put on 237 for the second wicket and this is the tenth time in Tests that these two have put on hundred or more. So, what keeps this partnership going?

"When we are batting there is nothing much on cricket to talk about. He has his own style and he takes his time to settle down. I try to go for my shots. So, we don't talk about cricket much. Just normal things like keep watching the ball etc," said Sehwag.

Again he was pressed to say something about Sachin by a determined bunch of reporters. "The best thing about Sachin is that he plays every match with the same approach and concentration. It could be his first or 100th match. He will never think that his 50th Test ton is coming up. He plays the same always," explained Sehwag in his uncomplicated style.

It seems that the Delhi Dasher likes to keep things simple. That could be the mantra of his phenomenal success.

London, November 4
Real Madrid scored seconds from time to force a 2-2 draw at AC Milan, secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League and leave coach Jose Mourinho with a smile on his face on his return to the San Siro on Wednesday. Real went through to the knockout stage along with Bayern Munich and Chelsea, although Arsenal, who could also have qualified with two matches to spare, lost 2-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk and will have to wait.

Real’s point at the San Siro, where the Spaniards have failed to win in 14 matches dating back to 1956, coupled with Auxerre's 2-1 win over Ajax Amsterdam means the nine-time European champions will definitely finish in the top two in Group G and, after four straight wins, probably win it.

Mourinho, bidding to become the first coach to lift the European Cup with three different clubs, told Sky Sports afterwards: "Overall I am not too happy with the result because we should have killed them, we had chances to kill the game. But at the same time when you are losing 2-1 in the last minute and you equalise you cannot say you are sad because you've had a little bit of luck to score the goal.

“We have qualified, we didn't lose, and we keep going.” Real went ahead with a Gonzalo Higuain goal just before halftime before two second half goals from 37-year-old substitute Filipo Inzaghi put Milan 2-1 ahead. But a strike four minutes into stoppage time from Pedro Leon salvaged the draw with almost the last kick of the game.

That goal was the 32nd and final one on the highest scoring Champions League night for eight years and brought a huge smile of relief to Mourinho, who, despite leading Inter Milan to a treble last season, was never fully accepted in Italy.

Before the match he gave a three-finger salute to the Milan fans in the stadium representing, he said, the treble he won with their arch-rivals Inter, explaining: "three fingers, three titles with Inter last season, the treble -- a little bit of pepper before the game."

Bayern, beaten by Mourinho's Inter in last season's Champions League final in Madrid, certainly peppered CFR Cluj in a 4-0 win in Romania to maintain their perfect start in Group E and take them into the last 16 on the back of a Mario Gomez hat-trick.

Chelsea also racked up four goals with a 4-1 win over Spartak Moscow at Stamford Bridge with defender Branislav Ivanovic, scoring twice. Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba added the others as Chelsea maintained their perfect start in Group F.

Chelsea were not the highest scorers in their own group though as Olympique Marseille thrashed a weak Zilina 7-0 in Slovakia - the highest away win since the competition began in 1992-93 and only one short of Liverpool's overall record 8-0 victory over Besiktas three years ago this week.

Arsenal let their chance slip and will have to wait to qualify. Arsenal took the lead at Shakhtar Donetsk with a superb goal on the run from Theo Walcott, but Donetsk struck back to win 2-1 with Dmytro Chygrynskiy's deflected header and a second from former Arsenal player Eduardo. — Reuters

Meerut, November 4
Uttar Pradesh earned three points by virtue of 74-run first innings lead against Punjab in their elite Group B Ranji Trophy match that ended in a draw on the at the Bhamashah Stadium here today. Pankaj Dharmani scored a fine unbeaten century, while Uday Kaul and Vishwas Bhalla chipped in with valuable runs to help Punjab end the day on 354 for six in 118.1 overs and stop Uttar Pradesh from registering a win.

However, the hosts ended up getting three crucial points, while Punjab could get only one.

Earlier, in reply to Punjab's first innings total of 288 all out, Uttar Pradesh managed to score 362 to acquire a good lead. Yesterday, after dismissing Uttar Pradesh for 362 in their second innings, Punjab wiped out their first innings deficit to take a 53-run lead at the draw of stumps as they reach 127 for 4.

The two overnight batsmen -- Uday Kaul (47) and Pankaj Dharmani (34) today gave Punjab just the kind of start they needed on the final day morning. Dharmani went on to score an unbeaten 135, while Kaul contributed with 74, followed by Vishwas Bhalla's crucial 76 not out that denied UP a chance of forcing a result in the match even after the home team had already sent Punjab's top-order back into the pavilion yesterday itself.

For Uttar Pradesh, Piyush Chawla took two wickets on the day to finish with the figures 2 for 78 but the rest of the bowlers could not do much. Brief scores: Punjab: 288 & 354 for 6 in 118.1 overs (Pankaj Dharmani 135 n.o., Uday Kaul 74, Vishwas Bhalla 76 n.o.; Piyush Chawla 2/78).

Johannesburg, November 4
After facing legal action from Cricket South Africa, opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs may now face the wrath of fellow players for his sensational revelations in his controversial autobiography 'To The Point'. Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricket Players' Association, told the Afrikaans daily Beeld that Gibbs could get into further trouble for his allegations against fellow cricketers.

"I have already spoken to Majola and there is a process which must now run its course," Irish said. "Herschelle is still a contracted player and that is why it is also important to look at what he says in his interviews about the book," he added.

The CSA yesterday announced that it had sought legal advice on the book and also issued a warning to players to decline from making comments. "CSA has tasked its Legal Counsel to look into the matter and to advise us accordingly. Everybody concerned (including players) needs to wait for the outcome of CSA's processes which will be announced as soon as the Board has taken a view or a decision on the matter," CSA chief executive Gerald Majola had said in a statement.

"Before this happens and the CSA Board has taken a decision, all stakeholders should avoid expressing views – that includes the players. I have not read the book and cannot comment on what is reported in the press," Majola said.