Sehwag sizzles but Delhi lose

Indore (PTI): Virender Sehwag struck a fluent half-century in the first outing of his comeback bid into the national side but that was not good enough to prevent a formidable Delhi side from losing by 18 runs to India Blue in the opening game of NKP Salve Challenger Series here on Thursday.

Playing without skipper Yuvraj Singh, who skipped the tie due to a stiff back, India Blue scored 270 for six in 50 overs courtesy a 73-ball-91 by Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar. In reply, Sehwag, who came in at number four, batted in his customary style, smashing his way to 58 off only 39 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six but Delhi could manage only 252 in 47.5 overs.