BBC SPORT | Cricket | Opening quandary solved

They have tried and tested, scrapped and experimented over the last year with little success.

But if the first day of the Bombay Test is anything to go by, India may have finally found a reliable opening pair.

In their fourth Test opening the batting together, and their first on home turf, Virender Sehwag and Sangar Bangar reached three figures.

I wanted to go on and bat for the entire day

Virender Sehwag

And for good measure they broke the 24-year-old record of Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan for an opening stand against the West Indies in a partnership of 201.

Report: Sehwag ton puts India on top

Ironically India's last stable first-wicket pair was broken up after opening stands of 97 and 107 in a losing effort to Sri Lanka.

And since then Sadagoppan Ramesh is about the only man not to have been tried out at the top of the order, even though he boasts a career average of 37.97.

India have used seven different opening batsmen in the last 12 months, in as many different combinations.

And the average number of runs scored for that first wicket, in 16 Tests before the current one was 24.2.

Behind them some of the world's best batsmen champed at the bit, but without a decent opening pair they were often on the back foot from the beginning.

Made in England

The current pairing came together through a combination of inspiration from the one-day game and bare necessity.

The promotion of Sehwag (who ironically debuted in the first of those 16 matches) in limited overs matches saw India dominate from the off.

Sehwag drives
Sehwag can go for his shots thanks to Bangar's caution
And a similar move in Tests saw him score 84 against England at Lord's.

Going into the third Test of the series, though, India needed a way to bring in a second spinner, and Bangar's seam-bowling skills gained him a spot.

For the explosive Sehwag and the stoic Bangar it is a case of opposites attract, as Bangar provides a perfect foil to his colleague.

Sehwag, whose 147 was a career best, paid tribute to his colleague at day's end, saying: "All credit goes to Sanjay for the way he supported me.

"He batted sensibly and did not lose his cool and that made it possible for me to go for my shots."

Bangar, who was playing before his home crowd, said he made a conscious decision not to try emulating Sehwag's big shots.

"It's not my game to hit out the way Sehwag does and I knew I had to play to my strengths," he said.

Just for openers

Indian opening batsmen since October 2001

Shiv Sunder Das (12 Tests)

Deep Dasgupta (7 Tests)

Virender Sehwag (5 Tests)

Wasim Jaffer (5 Tests)

Sanjay Bangar (4 Tests)

Rahul Dravid (1 Test)

Iqbal Siddiqui (1 innings)

"I don't try to compete with anyone at the middle."

Having taken more than four hours over his 55, Bangar acknowledged that he was still far from cementing his spot.

One predecessor, Deep Dasgupta, was criticised for the length of time it took him to score a maiden century against England in just his third Test and was dropped after five more.

But, after his second century in just his fifth Test at the top of the order, Sehwag's place seems secure for as long as he wants it.

He is still not satisfied with his current form, though.

"I wanted to go on and bat for the entire day," he told reporters after the first day's play. "That would have been great."

"Getting hundreds at the top of the order is good for the team and I'm happy that I could deliver."


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