Mr Bahal beat authors such as Paul Theroux for the dubious honour

Indian writer Aniruddha Bahal told BBC News Online: "I'm not one to shy away from having a laugh at my own expense."

Mr Bahal won the award, presented in London by Sting on Wednesday night, for an extract from his novel Bunker 13.

The author, best known as a reporter who uncovered match fixing in cricket, said he was happy to win the award, beating Paul Theroux and John Updike.

Mr Bahal said he was happy to accept an award for sexually explicit writing because in India there was too much censorship. He said the award was a "rebellious gesture".

Other nominees for the award included former BBC Radio 4 Today editor Rod Liddle and The Alchemist author Paolo Coelho.

Bad sex? You want her more at a Volkswagen's steady trot. Squeeze the maximum mileage out of your gallon of gas... An extract from Anniruddha Bahal's Bunker 13

Mr Bahal won for a passage that included the following extract:

"She is topping up your engine oil for the cross-country coming up. Your RPM is hitting a new high. To wait any longer would be to lose prime time...

"She picks up a Bugatti's momentum. You want her more at a Volkswagen's steady trot. Squeeze the maximum mileage out of your gallon of gas. But she's eating up the road with all cylinders blazing. "

The Delhi-based writer told BBC News Online he had heard of the award in India but "never thought that one day I would be nominated for it".

'Opportunity'

Past winners of the prize included Wendy Perriam, AA Gill, Salman Rushdie and Melvyn Bragg.

As a journalist Bahal has reported on a wide range of subjects, from environment to defence, and is best known for his investigations into match-fixing in cricket.

In 2001, he exposed corruption among Indian defence officials, after covertly filming them taking bribes.

He said his publishers had flown him over to accept the award and he "took it as an opportunity to see my friends in London".

He also said he was "a bit peeved" he had won. "Lots of other writers in India thought my book had great sex writing," he said.

And he said that winning the prize has not made him less proud of his writing. "I wouldn't change a word," he said.