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'Toss up between Sehwag and Gambhir'

November 04, 2007 17:37 IST

It will be a toss up between the Delhi duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir when Team India picks the final XI for the first one-day internationl against Pakistan in Guwahati on Monday, said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

- India, Pakistan braced for tense showdown

Gambhir has been in good form in recent past, while Sehwag also enjoys an impressive record against Pakistan and Dhoni said it would be a tough call when the final eleven is namedĀ on Monday morning.

"Sehwag is batting well at the nets. He is middling the ball and is in good nick. He is fielding well too.

"Gambhir is also batting well and it will be a tough choice between him and Sehwag," Dhoni said on the eve of theĀ  match.

Dhoni felt both the sides were evenly matched and whoever handles the situation well would have the last laugh.

"The Pakistan team has a lot of players who can both bat and bowl. It is similar to India. The team which exploits the conditions better tomorrow will win."

Dhoni parried queries on the imposition of emergency in Pakistan and said, "I am not the right person to answer the question."

Asked whether the Pakistani players would be under pressure due to the turmoil back home, he said, "It's upto them but I hope they are mentally tough."

Though he looked confident about the side's batting and bowling, Dhoni admitted there was ample rooms for improvement in fielding and running between the wickets, which have been India's perennial problems.

The sides squared up in the Twenty20 World Cup, but Dhoni would be leading India for the first time in a one day series against Pakistan even though he did not see anything special in it.

"I have played a lot of matches and captaining against any team is the same," he said.

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