Opening balance:  Takes three to stay two good

NEW DELHI: The Uber driver almost gives a perplexed look on told that you’re in town to cover the India-Sri Lanka Test beginning on Saturday. “Aap Madras se, yeh match dekhneko aaye? Match chod ke Shimla jao (from Madras for this match? Better go to Shimla),” he begins. He doesn’t bother when reminded this is a series decider. “India teen deen me khatam karega (India will win in three days),” he says.

There are so many holes glaringly visible in the Sri Lankan side that it is almost impossible to believe there will be any sort of an upset at Kotla. Test cricket has seen many instances of underdogs biting against the odds, but going by form and history, there is little to suggest that India will not secure a ninth successive Test series win.

The Indians are at home only physically, since in their minds they have already started simulating match situations in Cape Town. So much so that opener Murali Vijay was practising with tennis balls to get used to the bounce he is most likely to encounter against Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel.

Fresh from a century in the previous Test, Vijay is not guaranteed to start. You know why. This team likes to be versatile and sometimes even chooses openers depending on conditions rather than relying on the tried and tested. Not until the team meeting on the eve of the match do the three openers know who among them will be carrying drinks the next day. But going by the camaraderie between Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, it seems they have learnt how to feed off each other rather than getting bothered by competition.

“Whatever the team management thinks, we are equipped to execute and all are looking to contribute. I don’t know how they are going to play around with the team, it’s their choice and we are ready to do it for the team,” is how Vijay responded on the possibility of India rotating openers for the third time this series.
In the first Test, Dhawan opened with Rahul, who in the second Test partnered Vijay after the left-hander took leave for personal reasons. Back in the team again in his home town, it remains to be seen if Dhawan reclaims the slot. Though he is the most vulnerable of the three against the new ball, numbers tell a different story.

The Dhawan-Vijay pair averages 42.81 and Dhawan-Rahul 64.55. The Vijay-Rahul pair puts together a mere 23.77 in comparison.

Ask the three who their favourite opening partner is and one gets a diplomatic answer on the lines of “It’s okay if anybody opens. There is absolutely no problem.” One might think this is diplomatic, but this mindset is perhaps what keeps them pushing harder each time one gets an opportunity.

“We three are good friends off the field and that makes it easier. Definitely it unsettles the opener, who is playing regularly. Make it easier, lighter, more fun, talking about it openly and having a good chat over it rather than keeping it to yourself. Like whatever I feel or Shikhar feels, we put it out in the open so that it comes out and we move forward,” said Vijay.

“We share a good rapport outside the field and that will help us in the series coming ahead. We three are in good form. Basically we are fun loving people and I think we do things together and have good times outside the field, which is really helping us as a team.”

venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com