THE INDIAN team will be pleased to hear that Virender Sehwag is set to join his Indian team mates today in England as he missed the first two matches due to an injury. He looks set to play in the third Test match at Birmingham against England, which starts on August 10. His regular batting partner, Gautam Gambhir also looks set for a return in the third Test match following an injury, which prevented him from playing in the second Test match where India suffered a humiliating defeat.

This opening pair of Gambir and Sehwag is respected all over the world for their understanding, when they are running between the wickets and their consistent record against all opponents. They have scored more than 3500 runs while they have opened the batting together, which is a great record for any partnership. They comprehend one another very well as both these players played for the same team, Delhi in the Ranji trophy matches too.

The Indian team has not had a good opening partnership in the first two Test matches at all, so they would look upon the successful opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir to deliver the goods and create a platform for their middle order.

It is surprising that the Indian team has not been able to score 300 plus runs even once. It reflects the importance of Sehwag in the team. He is well known for his aggressive style of batting irrespective of the conditions and the situation that he is playing. The English bowlers may be a confident bunch now, but they would have their task cut out if Sehwag starts to score runs against them. Once, Sehwag gets going, he makes sure that he keeps the run rate over 4 runs.

The English bowlers, along with their captain, Andrew Strauss would be chalking out their plans to dislodge Sehwag early as they are aware of the threat if he stays for a longer duration at the crease. On the other hand, Gambhir would no longer be under pressure, and he can play his normal game in Sehwag’s absence. Both these players have been opening the batting for India for some years now, so they understand each other‘s game. They need to fire on all cylinders if the Indians are to score big runs in the Test match.