India vs England 4th ODI at Bangalore, Sunday November 23, 2008

Bangalore: Sachin Tendulkar may have already figured in 417 ODIs, yet a good 24 hours before the rest of his mates were slated to gather for a net session, he was out at the Chinnaswami Stadium on Friday afternoon having an extended hit against a bowling machine set up exclusively for him.

It was a good eight month back, on March 4 to be precise, that Tendulkar played his lost ODI against Australia. The Indians have played a lot of ODIs since then, losing some but winning a lot more. It is a fact that Sachin was hardly missed by the MS Dhoni side which annihilated Bangladesh and lost Asia Cup final against Srilanka. But defeated Sri Lankan in Srilanka, a feat not easily achieved by any team.

Problem for Dhoni is Opening puzzle
Sachin Tendulkar's return to Indian ODI team will force MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten to juggle the batting order. Here are the options:

• Sachin and Sehwag: The par has opened for India with a lot of success in the past. In fact, India's resurgence in the 2003 World Cup started when the two of them started opening. The due has opened 62 times and aggregated 2605 runs at a healthy average 42.01 with nine century stands and nine fifty as well.
• Sachin and Gambhir: this one is a strict no-no. Why? Because in the 11 matches that they have opened, they have aggregated just 137 runs at a disastrous average of 12.45!
• Gambhir and Viru: Gauti-Viru are the flavour of the season. The impressive numbers tel a pretty story. Gambhir-Sehwag have walked in as openers 21 times and have put on 1157 runs at a great average of 55.09. Add to that three century stands and six fifty plus partnerships. But that means asking the great man to bat at no. 3. It's a position Sachin would be reluctant to bat at. He average 10.22 batting 11 times at that number.