LAHORE, Jan 9: Indian opener Virender Sehwag expects a competitive series ahead, starting with the first Test from Friday at Qadhafi Stadium.

“Both teams are balanced while the batsmen and bowlers are in form, fresh after winning their home series, India against Sri Lanka and Pakistan against England.

“It will be an interesting series,” Sehwag said.

Sehwag, who scored a triple century against Pakistan in Multan to help India win the first Test of 2003-04 tour said that past was past and now he was looking forward for another challenge.

“I remember my 309 in Multan but that was the past and I have to look forward for a fresh challenge and I will try to come up to the expectations of my team,” Sehwag stated.

He stressed that the Indian batsmen were mentally prepared to meet the challenge of Pakistan’s pace attack spearheaded by Shoaib Akhtar.

“Like last time, we have been practising with the hard synthetic ball to meet Shoaib Akhtar who is no doubt a fiery fast bowler,” Sehwag said, who had scored 3320 runs in Test cricket at an excellent average 53.54.

Sehwag, who missed the three-day practice match at Bagh-i-Jinnah due to late arrival with three other players, said that though a practice game ahead of the Test series was better for him, it did not make a big difference.

Agencies add from Mumbai, Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said India should play all three opening batsmen if Pakistan fielded all-seam attack for first Test beginning in Lahore on Jan 13.

Speaking at a function here, he said if Pakistan fielded an all-seam attack, then playing all three openers — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer — would be a good strategy to blunt this attack.

The opening batsmen can counter all-seam attack better than other batsmen as they are used to batting at top of order on a new wicket and therefore playing all three openers could be of advantage to India, he explained.

About green wickets in Pakistan, Gavaskar termed these wickets as “a joke”.

“Green wickets in Australia and South Africa are most dangerous because of soil beneath which allows seam movement of wicket, whereas in our part of the world surface underneath wicket does not help seamers and therefore having just green wickets is of no help”.

He did not think that India-Pakistan series would ever get stale. People in both countries can never get enough of cricketing contests between the two countries, he added.