India hold firm

Hyderabad - India's flying start to the first test against New Zealand was checked when the hosts lost both openers on the first morning to reach the lunch interval on 97 for two wickets in Hyderabad on Thursday.

At the break, Cheteshwar Pujara (12) and Sachin Tendulkar (12) were the batsmen at the crease, having added a pedestrian 20 runs in 10.3 overs.

The hosts included Pujara and Suresh Raina in the team as replacements for the retired middle-order batting duo of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

Gautam Gambhir (22) and Virender Sehwag (47) put on 49 for the opening wicket to give India a flying start after captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat.

However, left-hander Gambhir was the first to depart when he edged left-arm paceman Trent Boult to wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk when trying to run the ball down to the third-man boundary.

Sehwag hit nine boundaries and survived two chances during his charmed 41-ball stay at the crease.

Daniel Flynn put down a difficult chance at square leg after the right-hander mistimed a pull off Chris Martin while an edge off Doug Bracewell flew between Van Wyk and captain Ross Taylor at first slip.

Bracewell finally got rid of the dangerous Sehwag after the batsman's attempted cut was snapped up by Martin Guptill at second slip.

Bracewell also forced Tendulkar to edge an away swinger but the ball bounced just short of the fielders behind the stumps.

The second match of the two-Test series starts in Bangalore on August 31.