India in England: Viru comes and goes

There were few gains for India from the first day of their tour game against Northamptonshire here on Friday. MS Dhoni & Co may have ended the day with more problems than solutions over team composition for the third Test.

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, all looking for runs, failed to utilise the opportunity to get back into form.

They were out cheaply on a day when Abhinav Mukund, expected to make way for Sehwag in the third Test, hammered a chanceless ton.

His 113, before retiring hurt, was the only positive for the beleaguered Indians who have been second best to England in the Test series so far. They made 327 for seven in 90 overs.

Sehwag, looked upon as a messiah, had a torrid time in the middle. He had some uneasy moments during his 25-ball stay. He was not the fluent batsman he is known to be.

He may not have inspired enough confidence Dhoni, who handed over the reins of captaincy to vice-captain Gambhir for this game.

Dhoni, too, had a testing time in the middle, having failed to get going. Short of runs, the India skipper came to bat after tea but his stay was cut short by a bowler of modest abilities. But he lasted for 13 balls, or 15 minutes.

Almost similar was the story of Gambhir, who too is expected to be part of the starting line-up in the third Test. He pushed, prodded and nudged for 86 minutes before being was caught off guard by young left-arm pacer David Willey.

Gambhir played three fluent drives but he had no answer to a ball that came in. Raina played a few shots before he was dismissed by Luke Evans, a 24-year-old right-arm pacer.

Raina, under pressure to retain his spot, did not do his chances any good.

India’s position would have been worse but for Mukund’s stroke-filled century. The left-hander played his shots with freedom and raced away to an impeccable century.

The Tamil Nadu batsman smashed boundaries to all parts of the ground before retiring hurt. But the question is: will the knock help him retain his place in the squad?

Mukund was involved in a 135-run partnership for the third wicket with VVS Laxman, who was his usual elegant self. Laxman was set for a big score before he perished playing an uppish pull shot.

He made 49. Amit Mishra proved a better batsman than some of his seniors by remaining on 48 at stumps. But his real test will come on Saturday.

The Northants fielded a second-string bowling attack but it was good enough to test the Indian batsmen. Left-arm pacer Willey, son of former England international and later umpire, Peter Willey, troubled the batsmen with his movement.

Right-arm pacers Evans and Dave Burton extracted good pace and bounce.