Why Sehwag-Gambhir duo is needed at the top

History tells us that great Test teams have almost always had a great pair of openers. The wisdom thrown at us through the years is - if you're bare at the top, forget about reaching, and staying at the top.

Australia's domination of world cricket in the recent past was propelled by openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. The great West Indian side of 1970s and 1980s had the redoubtable duo of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes at the helm.

Much earlier, in the 1920s, the legendary pair of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe gave substance to England's essays and posed many problems for arch-rivals Australia. More recently, Herchelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith have served South Africa well.
The dictum has proved true in India's case too with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir leading the charge towards the world No. 1 ranking which the team ultimately achieved in December 2009. The two formed a formidable pair at the top of the batting order and complemented each other beautifully. The Delhiites form a mutual admiration club and share a rare bond, supporting each other through thick and thin.

Their absence in the West Indies during the recent Test series meant India never got the momentum going at the start of the innings. It also meant increased pressure on the middle order as stop-gap openers could never give the team a fluent beginning. The result was that India ended up with modest totals in most of their innings.

In the ongoing series against England too, Sehwag's absence from the first two Tests and Gambhir's withdrawal from the second made India's task that much harder. The first gate of defence was left creaking and the English bowlers went marching in, leaving behind a battered and bruised batting line-up.

The duo should come together at Edgbaston for the third Test and that should be the biggest boost to the beleaguered Indian side. In the 36 Tests these two have opened for India, 18 have been won and only six became losses. There individual record as well as their record together speak for their value to the team.

The flip side is that Sehwag is coming back from injury and Gambhir has not been in great form. But these two have the wherewithal to lift themselves and the team.