Virender Sehwag raced to an unbeaten half century to help India get off to a flying start in the first test of the three-match series against New Zealand at the Sardar Patel Stadium on Thursday. After captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won the toss and opted to bat, Sehwag reached the interval on 87 from just 84 balls to guide the hosts to 127 for one at lunch, with the loss of opener Gautam Gambhir the only blemish of the morning. At the break, Rahul Dravid (12) had shared in an unbeaten partnership of 67 with Sehwag.

The swashbuckling right-hander hit 15 boundaries in his knock and was at his punishing best against off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who went for 34 in five overs, including six fours off Sehwag. India's only casualty of a satisfactory session was Gambhir for 21, when the left-hander played on to part-time medium pacer Jesse Ryder when attempting an expansive cover drive. The New Zealand pacers toiled hard on a pitch that provided them little assistance as captain Daniel Vettori, playing in his 100th test, was forced to introduce spin as early as the ninth.

The hosts selected Shanthakumaran Sreesanth as the second paceman ahead of Ishant Sharma, while batsman Kane Williamson and fast bowler Hamish Bennett were handed their New Zealand debuts. The second test is in Hyderabad from Nov. 12-16 while the third and final test will be played in Nagpur from Nov. 20-24.