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 at Indore 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.