India broke through the stubborn England resistance with amorning burst of five wickets before surging to a comprehensive nine-wicketvictory in the opening cricket Test for a 1-0 lead in the four-match series heretoday.
Needing 77 runs to record their first win at this venue inseven years on a crumbling and dusty pitch, India achieved the target when theymade 80 for one in 16.3 overs after lunch with more than half a day to spare.
Openers Virender Sehwag (25) and Cheteshwar Pujara (41 notout), who scored a double hundred in the huge first innings total of 521 for 8declared, polished off the major part of the target by adding 57 runs in only9.5 overs.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha prised open thevictory door for the hosts when he broke through England's resolute batting bypacking off overnight batsmen Matt Prior (91) and Alastair Cook (176) in 12balls to virtually bring the visitors to their knees.
The two had kept England afloat yesterday with a determinedpartnership which had helped the visitors avoid an innings defeat and hadraised their hopes of even saving the game. The pair remained unconquered lastevening with the visitors on 340 for five, an overall lead of 10 runs.
Ojha's two for 18 burst in 11 overs was complemented byUmesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Zaheer Khan who grabbed a wicket each asEngland slumped from 356 for five to 406 all out in just over 16 overs and in113 minutes of play this morning.
Ojha, who grabbed 4 for 120 in the second innings to add tohis superb haul of 5 for 45 in the first, emerged as the most successful bowlerfrom the game.
Pujara, who made an unbeaten 206 in the first essay andopened the innings in place of a bereaved Gautam Gambhir, was the mostsuccessful batsman for India.
In the second innings, Pujara and Virat Kohli (14 not out)steered Indian home without being separated.
