India make steady start after early Tuffey strike

AHMEDABAD, India, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Fast bowler Daryl Tuffey removed opener Virender Sehwag before India reached 76 for one wicket at lunch on the opening day of the first test against New Zealand on Wednesday.

Tuffey exemplified New Zealand’s early aggression by trapping the dangerous Sehwag lbw for a breezy 29.

But debutant opener Aakash Chopra, batting on 25, and Rahul Dravid, 22 not out, cut out risks until the interval to justify captain Saurav Ganguly’s decision to bat first on a good batting pitch.

Both Tuffey and new ball partner Jacob Oram bowled to an attacking field, keeping a line well outside off-stump for Sehwag and bowling short-pitched deliveries to unsettle Chopra.

Tuffey almost got Sehwag when he had made six runs by tempting him to slash a wide delivery but a leaping Craig McMillan at the thirdman fence could only get his fingertips to the ball to concede a six.

After pulling fast bowler Scott Styris for two consecutive fours, Sehwag was trapped by Tuffey with a sharp in-cutter, although TV replays suggested the ball could have missed leg-stump. Sehwag’s 32-ball knock contained three fours and a six.

India drafted in two debutants in Chopra and 22-year-old paceman Lakshmipathy Balaji while New Zealand, like India, included two spinners in Vettori and Paul Wiseman for the first test.

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