CHENNAI, Dec 14: Virender Sehwag smashed a quickfire 83 off 68 balls as India made a spirited start in their chase of a history-defying target in the first Test against England here on Sunday.

The hosts ended the fourth day’s play at 131 for one in their second innings after being set 387 to win by England captain Kevin Pietersen, a target never achieved before on Indian soil.

England declared their second innings at 311-9 soon after tea, the total revolving around Andrew Strauss’ second century in the match and 108 from Paul Collingwood.

The aggressive Sehwag plundered 11 boundaries and four sixes in a whirlwind opening stand of 117 with Gautam Gambhir, whose own contribution in the partnership was 29.

England broke through six overs before close when Sehwag was given leg-before by umpire Daryl Harper while trying to sweep off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Gambhir was unbeaten at stumps on 41 and Rahul Dravid was on two, with India needing a further 256 runs from 90 overs on the final day to take the lead in the two-Test series.

The highest fourth innings total to win a match on Indian soil is 276-5 by the West Indies at New Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla Ground during the 1987-88 season.

Sehwag, one of fiercest strikers of a cricket ball in contemporary cricket, tore into fast bowler Steve Harmison and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar as he raced to 50 off just 32 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

On 26, he gave a difficult chance to Alaistair Cook at gully when he slashed at Harmison.

Harmison was taken off the attack after he went for 33 in four overs and only the explosive pacer Andrew Flintoff looked like making a dent.

Sehwag’s swashbuckling display, in which he hit two sixes off Panesar and a sensational uppercut over the third man ropes off Harmison, opened up the match for India.

Left-handed Strauss, who made 123 in the first innings, scored 108 to become only the second Englishman after Graham Gooch to score two centuries in a Test against India.

The 31-year-old Middlesex opener emulated West Indian Everton Weekes, Duleep Mendis of Sri Lanka and Gary Kirsten of South Africa, the current India coach, in scoring two hundreds in a Test on Indian soil. Mendis, in fact, scored 105 in each innings here.

Strauss and Collingwood, who came together on Saturday evening with England struggling at 43-3, hammered 214 for the fourth wicket.

A crowd that increased to 12,000 by afternoon warmly applauded when Strauss turned Zaheer Khan to mid-wicket for a single in the post-lunch session to bring up his 14th Test century.

Collingwood, who went to lunch on 93, reached his seventh Test century in the sixth over after resumption when he flicked Harbhajan Singh for a single.

But Strauss fell off the next delivery, uppishly driving the off-spinner to extra cover where Vangipurappu Laxman took an easy catch.

India gained another wicket soon after as Andrew Flintoff (4) edged seamer Ishant Sharma to wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make England 262-5.

Dhoni, the Indian captain, deployed six bowlers to contain England on a wearing wicket that is still affording bounce to both pacemen and spinners.

Seamers Zaheer and Sharma claimed three wickets each, while frontline spinner Harbhajan returned with 1-91 from 30 overs.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 316 (A.J. Strauss 123, M.J. Prior 53 not out, A.N. Cook 52).

INDIA (1st Innings) 241 (M.S. Dhoni 53).

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 172-3):

A.J. Strauss c Laxman b Harbhajan 108

A.N. Cook c Dhoni b Sharma 9

I.R. Bell c Gambhir b Mishra 7

K.P. Pietersen lbw b Yuvraj 1

P.D. Collingwood lbw b Zaheer 108

A. Flintoff c Dhoni b Sharma 4

M.J. Prior c Sehwag b Sharma 33

G.P. Swann b Zaheer 7

S.J. Harmison b Zaheer 1

J.M. Anderson not out 1

EXTRAS (B-10, LB-13, W-2, NB-7) 32

TOTAL (for nine decl, 105.5 overs) 311

FALL OF WKTS: 1-28, 2-42, 3-43, 4-257, 5-262, 6-277, 7-297, 8-301, 9-311.

BOWLING: Zaheer Khan 27-7-40-3 (2w); Sharma 22.5-1-57-3 (7nb); Mishra 17-1-66-1; Yuvraj Singh 3-1-12-1; Harbhajan Singh 30-3-91-1; Sehwag 6-0-22-0.

INDIA (2nd Innings):

G. Gambhir not out 41

V. Sehwag lbw b Swann 83

R. Dravid not out 2

EXTRAS (B-3, LB-2) 5

TOTAL (for one wkt, 29 overs) 131

FALL OF WKT: 1-117.

BOWLING (to-date): Harmison 4-0-33-0; Anderson 2-0-15-0; Panesar 7-1-36-0; Flintoff 8-1-15-0; Swann 8-0-27-1.—AFP