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Gautam Gambhir or Shikhar Dhawan: Who will open in India vs New Zealand 2nd Test?

Only Virat Kohli will have answers as to who will open with Murali Vijay come match day.

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The battle for the openers' slot intensifies between two players who have known and played each other a lot in the past
The battle for the openers’ slot intensifies between two players who have known and played with each other on several occasions in the past © AFP & Getty Images

In the 37th match of the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2008, an in-form Delhi Daredevils (DD) were up against now defunct Deccan Chargers (DC). Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan (the trio from Delhi) had been scoring the bulk of runs for their side till then. Winning the toss, DC elected to bowl. Sehwag went without scoring in the first over which brought youngster Dhawan in the middle along with Gambhir. Both being from the same state knew each other well and understood the need of hour. They took on the DC bowlers one at a time to guide DD to 194 for 4 in 20 overs. In the end, DD emerged victorious by 12 runs.

The most significant aspect of their 133-run stand (off 85 balls) was that they did not let the momentum drop for once in a format which was then new to the cricketing arena. Dhawan and Gambhir had seen each other’s style of play being in the same state team. Both are itchy in the beginning of their innings but make run flow look easy when they get going. They rotated the strike well and playing a replica of shots. While Gambhir came down the track and played some upper drives, cuts and swept to good use, Dhawan took his time but followed his senior soon.

The pair, in commentators’ clichéd ‘complimented each other well’ with aggression (yet in calculative measures) and took the team to a big score. Now let us come to reality. Cricket is considered as a funny game for various reasons as it is a game of uncertainty till the last ball is bowled (Refer to Bangladesh’s ill fortunes from ICC World Twenty20 2016 for more details). In Dhawan and Gambhir’s case, the duo who were taking their franchise team to a win 9 years down the line are now fighting for a slot in India’s vacant opening position. KL Rahul has opened up a spot in the Test side (from the ongoing three-Test series against New Zealand) as he is suffering from hamstring injury. Rahul is likely to sit out of the second Test (to be played at Eden Gardens) which has made things intense for Gambhir and Dhawan.

Both the left-handers not only have same range of shots but their weaknesses also remain the same. Dhawan and Gambhir have a habit of poking their bat outside off stump and are tentative against the moving ball. Gambhir is more skilled in comparison to Dhawan while playing against spin. It is not an unknown fact that Gambhir can adapt better than his present successor in Tests but one should not speculate much seeing Gambhir’s performance in Duleep Trophy 2016-17. Yes, he has scored abundance of runs (356 from 5 innings at an average of 71.20) and looked comfortable against the yet-in-experiment-stage pink ball but his real form will get to be noticed if and when he takes strides against the international set of bowlers.

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On the other hand if we look at Dhawan’s career, his has been marred with inconsistencies. If one chooses not to read much into Gambhir’s sparkling performances in Duleep Trophy, Dhawan could not even shine there with the one game he played. His last valuable knock came in the first of the four-Test series against West Indies with a valiant 87. The thing with Dhawan is that he comes really good on occasions but more often than not, disappoints throwing his starts carelessly.

A resurgent Gambhir will not like to repeat the mistakes of Dhawan as this may well be his last chance to play for India and be given a longer rope. If he perishes again, like he did in his last comeback trail in England, he will be history. Comebacks are tough as the onus shifts to that particular player and he/she try their best to outfox every occasion. Knowing Gambhir’s knack of fighting fire with fire (sometimes he goes overboard), he will be eager to not only outdo the opponents but also his own teammate for a place in the side.

The venue for the second Test is Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This brings us to another point which gives a certain edge to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the man in question, Gambhir. It is needless to say that Gambhir knows the surface well as he has led KKR since the last six editions and won many battles, both as a captain and player. His love affair with Kolkata will reach new heights if he takes the field on September 30 with lots past goals to be fulfilled and reputation at stake.

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Overall, Gambhir brings competitiveness to the game while Dhawan eases out things and adds positivity. One cannot rule out Dhawan so easily from selection debates as selectors have always backed him (there is a reason he is still in the squad and has not been dropped even with inconsistencies). Every team needs a player like Dhawan who will have a different onset on things and if they click, it wins the side a match almost single-handedly. If Gambhir is polished, Dhawan is a believer. If Dhawan is nonchalant, Gambhir means business. The team management have a big question which will be answered on Day One of the second Test.

Can’t say much about the series but this competition between two players who have played a lot with each other and are now fighting for the same place has become intense. For now, the loyal fans can wait, wait and only continue to wait to see the conclusion of this conundrum. Only Virat Kohli will have answers as to who will open with Murali Vijay come match day.

(Aditya Sahay is a journalist with CricketCountry who is completely into sports and loves writing about cricket in general. He can be followed on Twitter at adisahay7)

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