Gutsy Gambhir holds India's fortunes

Virender Sehwag's frustrating dismissal had sent blood pressure levels soaring, the Sri Lankan spinners - backed by a huge first-innings lead - were enjoying bowling into the rough and extracting sizeable spin and, with more than 120 overs left in the game, India were deep in the rut. What eased the tension for Indian fans on a dismal day for them was the knowledge that Gautam Gambhir was still around.

On form, Gambhir is India's most bankable batsman. Mohali against England and Napier and Wellington against New Zealand indicate a career path over the last 15 months in which his stature has grown manifold.

In Mohali last December, at 80 for 4 in the second innings, England had opened up a chink in the Indian batting but Gambhir dug deep to bury their hopes with a vigilant 97 in a 153-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh. The defining knock of his career arrived in Napier when he stuck around after India were forced to follow-on: his 137 lasted 72.2 overs and was spread over 10 hours and 43 minutes. He was not finished though, as he returned in the following Test to score another big century (167) and douse New Zealand's hopes of securing a win.

Enough precedent, then, to indicate that Gambhir will be India's biggest hope going into the final day in Ahmedabad. Though the pitch remains a batting wonder, the threat is three-fold. To begin with, the crucial first hour, then the looming threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath and finally the reverse-swing factor - both Dammika Prasad and the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara are able to reach speeds of at least 140kph.

But Gambhir has grown into a seasoned combatant having slugged it out on various pitches at home and abroad. Today, he called on that experience as he compiled runs more by placing the ball into the gaps rather than charging after the bowlers. In the process, he also managed to clear the few cobwebs that had begun to creep into his batting in the last month.

After a bright start in the ODI series against Australia, including half-centuries in the first two games, Gambhir fell apart and came up with single-digit scores in the next three. Perhaps the pressure of scoring off every ball might have weighed on his mind. But today there was no such pressure even if Sehwag was galloping away at the other end in streaky fashion. In a way, conquering or ignoring the Sehwag factor has been Gambhir's most important quest.

Both the Indian openers have been opening together for a long time and have their own distinctive games: Sehwag is instinctive, impulsive, and goes with the gut feeling. Gambhir is also aggressive and can charge the bowlers, but he possesses a more gritty and stubborn mindset. In each of the above mentioned knocks, it was his strength of mind as much as skill that thwarted his opponents. Gambhir's stronger temperament, at the moment, is something his senior partner wouldn't mind having. Sehwag is 32, has 15 hundreds (only three of them have resulted in Indian victories) but despite his stunning batsmanship, he can occasionally disappoint you with his shot selection.

The spinners failed to dissuade him despite having a close ring of fielders as they pitched into the rough. When Herath followed that approach, Gambhir nonchalantly stepped out to firmly push the ball between the cover and mid-off fielders for a sweetly timed four. With his composed stance, he waited for the ball rather than rushing into the shots, a tactic that helped him counter the fuller length and incoming deliveries from the fast bowlers.

India's coach Gary Kirsten said he was happy with India's final scoreline today though he would have preferred one wicket less. As for his strategy for tomorrow, Kirsten said the batsmen had nothing to fear on such a bland pitch. The key was focus. "We have to play risk-free cricket as much as possible and within each one's gameplans. It is going to require someone to bat 70-80 overs tomorrow."

Gambhir is the best man to accomplish that task. "We know what he is capable of and he has proved that…he and Rahul [Dravid] saved us the Test in Napier," said Kirsten. His message was clear: play according to the situation. "The bottomline is we need to bat for 80% of the day. As long as the guys understand that and confront the situation and come up with a determined and concentrated effort we have the skill to see through the day."