Virender Sehwag hit a career-best 228 not out as India opened their long-awaited Test series in Pakistan with a spectacular batting display here on Sunday.
The Indians, playing their first Test on Pakistan soil since 1989, plundered 356-2 by stumps on the opening day of the Multan Test after stand-in captain Rahul Dravid elected to take first strike.
Sehwag batted as if trying to make up for lost time, striking 30 boundaries and five sixes in his sixth three-figure knock from 21 matches.
He surpassed his previous best of 195 against Australia at Melbourne last year, and also beat Sanjay Manjrekar's 218 at Lahore in 1989 as the highest score by an Indian batsman against Pakistan.
Sehwag put on 160 for the first wicket with Delhi team-mate Akash Chopra and 183 for the unbroken third with Sachin Tendulkar, who returned unbeaten on 60.
"This is a very special innings because it is our first tour of Pakistan after so many years and this will give me the momentum for the rest of the series," Sehwag said.
"No Indian has scored 300 runs in Test cricket, so it will be at the back of my mind when I resume tomorrow. But the team's aim is to get around 600 runs by evening to put some pressure on Pakistan."
Sehwag needs 53 runs to emulate Venkatsai Laxman's record 281 against Australia at Calcutta in 2001, the highest Test score by an Indian against any team.
The 25-year-old, who was engaged to a Delhi girl prior to the current tour, dedicated his effort to his parents and fiancée.
"I talk to them regularly on the phone and I know they are following the tour very closely," he said.
Sehwag was stranded on 199 for nine deliveries, before flicking the 10th off Abdul Razzaq for two runs amid loud applause from some 5,000 spectators at the Multan stadium.
The tourists put on 104-0 by lunch and moved to 228-2 by tea as the Pakistani bowling wilted under the hot sun on the unresponsive wicket.
Fiery fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar went wicket-less for 60 runs, Mohammad Sami conceded 1-54 and veteran off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was thrashed for 1-123 from 23 overs.
Pakistan were left to rue two missed chances off Sehwag's rampaging blade on either side of lunch.
Sami put down a skier at mid-wicket off Saqlain just before the break and then Saqlain himself failed to latch on to a low catch at mid-on off Akhtar soon after resumption.
Chopra, content on playing second fiddle to Sehwag, made 42 when he was caught in the leg-trap off Saqlain.
Dravid top-edged a hook off Sami to square-leg, finally giving Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq something to smile about on his home ground.
But Tendulkar stepped in to continue Pakistan's frustration with his 38th half-century from 112 matches.
Sehwag, 76 at lunch, reached the coveted three-figure mark in fitting style, guiding the express pace of Akhtar over third man for his fourth six.
The run feast continued for the rest of the day as Sehwag, and later Tendulkar, smashed the tired bowling to all parts of the field.
Both teams went in with three seamers and one spinner on a grass-less wicket that promises to throw up a lot of runs.
The Indians, without injured skipper Sourav Ganguly, left out Murali Kartik and Ajit Agarkar from the 13 named on Saturday. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble joined the attack with seamers Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji.
Pakistan preferred Saqlain to leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.
SCOREBOARD
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INDIA 1ST INNINGS
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A. Chopra c Farhat b Saqlain Mushtaq 42
V. Sehwag not out 228
R. Dravid c Yasir b Mohammad Sami 6
S. Tendulkar not out 60
EXTRAS: (b4, lb10, nb6) 20
TOTAL: (for two wkts) 356
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TO BAT: V. Laxman, Y. Singh, P. Patil, A. Kumble, Irfan Pathan, L. Balaji, Zaheer Khan
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-160, 2-173
BOWLING: Shoaib Akhtar 18-4-60-0, Mohammad Sami 18-2-54-1, Shabbir Ahmed 20-6-64-0, Saqlain Mushtaq 23-2-123-1, Abdul Razzaq 11-2-41-0
OVERS: 90
PAKISTAN: Inzamam-ul Haq (captain), Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umer, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed.
TOSS: India
UMPIRES: David Shepherd (ENG), Simon Taufel (AUS)
TV UMPIRE: Asad Rauf (PAK)
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
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