Team India is all set for the Test series against Australia but till now the curtain on Virender Sehwag’s partner for the opening pair has not been raised. With Gautam Gambhir been shown the door because of his poor form, dashing Sehwag will take on the crease with either Murali Vijay or Shikhar Dhawan. Both the batsmen have had a good domestic season and have earned their place into the 15-member squad through some good performances in the Ranji and Irani trophies.

Let’s analyse how well these two can bond with Sehwag and who is having an upper-hand in the race for the opening slot.
 

SEHWAG & VIJAY
 
Murali Vijay and Virender Sehwag have played few Test matches together and batting style of both the batsmen is very identical. This batting combination can help the Najafgarh Nawab, as Vijay is not only a good stroke-player, he is good at rotating the strike as well. So both the openers have the capabilities of shifting the gear depending upon the situation. If both gets going, then there would be no respite for the Aussie pace attack and the game can shift in India’s favour in just a session.
 
Vijay looked in good touch in the first-class match against Ranji champions Mumbai where he scored 116 runs to reserve his berth for the Test series. To it, Vijay have the experience of playing at international level, which might tilt the balance in his favour. He has got opportunities but not on consistent basis, which has resulted in his poor average. If given a chance, we can expect some big scores coming from his bat.
 

SEHWAG & DHAWAN
 
Shikhar Dhawan has been included in the squad with an idea of keeping right-hand and left-hand combination going. He has been impressive this season and has scored at consistent basis. His steady innings against Mumbai in Irani trophy must have caught the attention of selectors. He can give solidity to the opening slot and can complement Sehwag really well. Sehwag and Dhawan have played some amount of domestic cricket with each other and know their style well.
 
Dhawan’s fielding is simply exceptional and the way he is ready to throw himself on the field makes him very effective, especially at catching positions in 30-yard circle. He can be more than just handy on the field. With the likes of Virat Kohli, he can help fast bowlers to keep an attacking fielding on for longer period of time.
 
On the other hand, Sehwag, who is not in best of form, is desperately looking for piling up some big runs in this series and would love to bat with him as he can keep the score board ticking with his ability to chip the balls on both the sides of the wicket. Dhawan has worked on his weakness of going behind the ball that is pitched outside off and that has made him a better batsman against fast bowling.
 
Openers vulnerable to swing bowling
 
Vijay and Sehwag are very much vulnerable against the swing bowing. They have been trapped in front of the wickets in the recent past and with some extra pace, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson can make their life tougher at the crease.
 
Sehwag who has got out 18 times in 2012, 11 times he has been caught behind the wicket while six times he has been clean-bowled. James Pattinson and Peter Siddle are the bowlers who got him twice each in 2011-12 Test series.
 
Murali Vijay had got out 20 times in his short career and had been caught 14 times either by fielder or by keeper. What makes it look worse is his weakness against right-arm pace bowlers who had got him caught behind 10 times.
 
Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan has played just five ODIs and has got out three times by a right-hand pace-man.
 
Australian team has planned really well and they have decided to go with three right–handed pace bowlers for first Test to keep the opening batsmen quiet