Bangladesh reduce India to 213 for 8, Sehwag to rethink about ordinary

Sachin Tendulkar saved India the blushes as Bangladesh, derided as an 'ordinary' team by rival captain Virender Sehwag, walked away with the opening day honours in the first cricket Test Chittagong on Sunday. The morning session did not give any hint of the impending disaster as India lost six of their top batsmen in the post-lunch period before crawling to 213 for eight at stumps, thanks to Tendulkar's unbeaten 76 and a characteristically breezy 52 by Sehwag.

During the course of his 55th Test half-century, Tendulkar also crossed the 13,000 runs mark in the longer format of the game. At stumps, Ishant Sharma (1) was giving company to Tendulkar after Shahadat Hossain (4/51) and Shakib Al Hasan (4/52) had mowed down the top and middle order. Sehwag, leading the side in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's injury-forced absence, had earlier derided the hosts as an ordinary side, questioning their ability to take 20 wickets. Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (23) gave India a strong start by raising 79 runs for the opening wicket in just 15 overs but the visiting batsmen gifted wickets in a heap in the dramatic post-lunch session, which was extended by half an hour after a 90-minute delayed start due to bad light.