India, Feb. 26 -- Rohit Sharma's belligerent approach at the top is complimented by the tempered style of his opening partner Shubman Gill. Just as new ball bowlers hunt in pairs, the chemistry between opening batters is as crucial. As former India opener Shikhar Dhawan said: "Aankho aanko main baat ho jaati thi (We didn't need words to send a message across)."

The Dhawan-Rohit partnership scored 5,148 runs together, the second most by an Indian ODI opening pair after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who totalled 6,609. Between Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the latter would whistle away, while Tendulkar made all tactical plays; together they plundered runs.

While batting together, Shikhar Dhawan not only did the mid-pitch singing o...