Asia Cup 2008

Dhoni praises openers

India captain MS Dhoni has praised the performance of his two openers in the tournament so far and has attributed much of the team’s success to their splendid form. Sehwag and Gambhir put on 92 runs for the opening wicket in 11.4 overs to plot India’s easy win over Sri Lanka and set up a summit clash on Sunday against the same opponents.

“They have given us some great starts in the competition and it has made the job of chasing big totals easier for us,” Dhoni said at the post match press conference. “Even though the wickets in this tournament have been very flat, and that is why we have seen totals of 300, still you need good starts to take the pressure off the middle order batsmen.”

Sehwag and Gambhir average 79.7 in four game at the top as they have accumulated 319 runs in the four matches that they have played. Their show here as well as in the Kitply Cup before this tournament means that they are currently the best opening pair in ODI cricket.

Tags: Asia Cup 2008, dhoni, gautam gambhir, India, virender sehwag