VVS Laxman batted for nearly three hours for his 95 as the Indians put up a solid totalIndia have started their tour of England in emphatic style. After electing to bat first against Sussex in their county game, barring the dismissals of Wasim Jaffer and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all other batsmen got amongst the runs. Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir laid the foundation for Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj to milk the bowling. India declared their innings at 388-7. Laxman was the last to get out, missing out on his century by a whisker.

Earlier, Dravid had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss. Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik opened for India. Jaffer was the first to depart. After battling it out for 47 balls, he got 12 runs and edged one back to the keeper. Gautam Gambhir was then sent in at number 3. After a tentative start, he got on his own and the cuts and pulls were more easier to come. Kartick on the other hand was playing solidly and continued on his rich form. He has really turned out to be a find for India and is a better wicketkeeper than Dhoni. After the performance of these three, I would not be surprised if its Kartick and Gambhir who open for India in the first test. Jaffer seems to only perform when his spot in the team is on the line.

Dravid and Laxman were their usual self. Both of them are know these conditions and had no problems in adjusting their game. However, it was heartening to see Laxman amongst the runs as his performance could very well be the key if India want to win this series. He forms the middle-order backbone along with Tendulkar, Ganguly and Yuvraj.

With the ball, the Indian seamers started a bit wayward, however, once they got into rhythm the wickets started to fall down. Ranadeb Bose got his first wicket bowling as a member of the Indian team. RP Singh and Sreesanth also got a wicket each. Kumble was his usual self, he claimed 2 victims.

What is more important for India’s point of view is that Tendulkar, Ganguly and Zaheer Khan have been rested for this match and will most likely play the second warm-up before the first test. Dravid had a small calf strain and retired at the end of Day 1. He did not come out into the field and probably will not take part in the remainder of this match as his team is sitting comfortably at the top of Sussex.

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