Viru, Gambhir fail to fire

India's final hope to revive the Test series in England were kept on hold on Friday after Virender Sehwag, back from shoulder surgery, was dismissed for only eight runs in the two-day warm-up game against Northamptonshire. Sanjjeev Karan Samyal reports. Big guns off target

India's final hope to revive the Test series in England were kept on hold on Friday after Virender Sehwag, back from shoulder surgery, was dismissed for all of eight runs in the two-day warm-up game against Northamptonshire.

The Delhi batsman hit a four but was troubled by the swinging deliveries before he was trapped leg before; it was a big blow for the world's no.1 ranked Test team, trying to somehow recover from 0-2.

Sehwag's regular opening partner Gautam Gambhir also did not last long on returning after recovering from an elbow injury suffered in the first Test. The left-handed batsman managed to score just 18.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni's wretched batting form continued as he was out for two. Young left-hander Abhinav Mukund struck 113 but it he is unlikely to play barring injuries. India finished the day on 327 for 7.