© CricInfo

India won the toss and did not hesitate to bat first on a true pitch. India went in with a new opener, the debutant Hemang Badani. The batsmen did not apply themselves well enough as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Badani (2), Laxman (15), Tendulkar (20) and Ganguly (9) failed to last long. SS Das played yet another knock of confidence (57) but failed to convert a good start to a big score. India lost their first five wickets for 122 runs.