Swann strikes after Sehwag century

Virender Sehwag at his swaggering best gave India a rousing start on the opening day of the first Test against England in Ahmedabad before Graeme Swann, a spin bowler with an onerous responsibility, struck back with three wickets in the afternoon session.

A relaid pitch at Motera provided a perfect stage for a rejuvenated Sehwag, who did much as he pleased in making a run-a-ball 117 to put India in command. But Swann revived England's spirits, his third wicket the most remarkable of all, that of Sachin Tendulkar who lofted to deep midwicket in an extraordinarily misconceived manner only a few minutes before tea.

Gautam Gambhir was Swann's first victim after an opening stand of 134 in 30 overs, bowled trying to fashion one of his high-risk carves through point and beaten by a hint of turn and weary bounce. Sehwag had briefly fallen into contemplative mood in mid-afternoon, as if recovering energy for his next assault, when he was bowled, sweeping. He had been dropped on 80, a challenging leg-side chance for Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, as he glanced at Jimmy Anderson.

Swann's wickets served to strengthen the conviction that England had selected unwisely in omitting a second specialist spinner in Monty Panesar on a virgin surface, of lower clay content and with no time to bed down, which threatened to drive the pace bowlers to distraction and turn sharply as the Test progressed.

Gambhir and Sehwag had been an alliance in decline, but Gambhir had proclaimed before the match that they were the best opening duo in the country and few would find much cause to question that as India sailed to 120 without loss by lunch. It was their first century opening partnership since India faced South Africa in Centurion in 2010.

Gambhir, though, was a bit-part player as the opening forays in a four-Test series which surrendered to Sehwag's unconventional destruction, with no England bowler able to stem his flow. It was a strange first session of Test cricket, dominated by Sehwag at his most adventuresome, relying more on eye than footwork, manipulating the ball with disdain and defending only as an afterthought.

By tea, a Gujarati hero was emerging for the crowd to applaud. Cheteshwar Pujara, upright and accomplished, looked a convincing replacement for Rahul Dravid as he produced an understated half-century, borne of collected manner and good timing. He needed a let-off on 8, however, as his gentle leading edge against Tim Bresnan was misjudged by Anderson, who ran in too far at mid-on.

The build-up had been dominated by talk of absent Indian spinners in England warm-up matches and of BCCI stand-offs with TV stations, radio and photographic agencies. England players had lain awake late at night listening to Diwali fireworks and wondering if more fireworks would soon be in store.

They were, and they came in the form of Sehwag's batting pyrotechnics that left England's bowlers breathless. India have never lost a Test at home after beginning with a century stand. The statistic told England that their chances are already slim. It was all a long way from England's domination of India in English conditions last summer. Only Swann summoned much of a retort.

Sehwag's 50 came in only 45 balls, by lunch he had 79 from 66 with 12 fours and a six. Runs came at a tempo that Test cricket rarely sees: 50 by the 12th over; 100 by the 20th. Sehwag possessed a hunched, insouciant air that suggested the match was of little consequence and he was just having a bit of a bash. It was dismissive flat-track bullying of a sort that he had not produced for some time.

England's pace attack persistently bowled too wide at Sehwag. When he took 12 from Anderson's fourth over, all of them flying through point, those in England who had set alarms for a 4am start must have wondered sleepily if they were watching action replays.

Bresnan, England's holding bowler, a man to squeeze things dry if the innings began to turn against them, disappeared for 4-4-6 in his sixth over, the second boundary, a drag through mid-on against a ball that crept through verging on the insulting, the six over wide long-on that followed, a full swing at a length ball, entirely dismissive.

It was a huge toss for India to win. The only impact that England's pace bowlers made was on the footholds that were soon evident, suggesting that a somnolent pitch in the first half of the match could turn alarmingly by the end. India, as expected, went into the Test with two specialist spinners - R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha - with Yuvraj Singh also able to provide left-arm spin as required. England, as England tend to do, omitted Panesar, and relied upon Samit Patel to give back-up to Swann. England calculated that the ball might reverse for Bresnan, as it did as early as the ninth over in a warm-up match on the adjacent B ground, but Bresnan had a dispiriting start.

The opening partnership of Sehwag and Gambhir had not been productive of late. Track back their statistics for a considerable period and it was easy to show both batsmen averaging less than 30. Initially there were hints of vulnerability - a flirty push square of the wicket by Gambhir, a half-cock defensive push from Sehwag, but this pitch allowed such liberties.

Swann's success was in strict contrast to the mood elsewhere. Anderson was wearing his worried expression, his new-ball spell limited to four overs. Stuart Broad stubbornly dug balls into an unsympathetic surface, saw them bounce no higher than the top of the stumps and looked at them quizzically as if he could stare it into behaving differently.

By lunch, at slip, Alastair Cook pondered whether his elevation to the Test captaincy really was a good idea after all. By tea, Swann had reminded him that in a four-Test series Sehwag's assault was merely the beginning.