Well begun is half done, goes an old saying, and for the Indian team that could well be the key in the remainder of the NatWest ODI series. India's improved showing at the Durham International Cricket Ground here on a wet Saturday that ended in a no-result, sprung from a fine start that Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane engineered under overcast skies.

Being fresh additions to the team after India's disastrous outing in the Tests, Parthiv and Rahane have no baggage of defeat to lug around and every game is a rare opportunity that comes their way only when the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir miss out due to injuries.

The duo's 82-run alliance spread over 16 overs snuffed out Alastair Cook's dreams of an early breakthrough and it has to be mentioned that the constant verbal volleys about Indians' alleged distrust of the bouncer shifted the priorities of the England fast bowlers. Length was shortened and that negated swing while fielders were placed for the slash and the hook.

Parthiv (95) chanced his arm before correcting his approach while being ever alive to denting the boards in the arc between mid-wicket and backward square-leg. Rahane, the more correct and composed player, followed up his 61 in the Twenty20 at Old Trafford with a measured 40. “They played the new ball well in tough conditions and adjusted to the pressure and that helped the team,” M.S. Dhoni said.

No final word There is no final word yet on Tendulkar's fitness. If the maestro's toe heals then in all probability Parthiv will be his opening partner in the second match at Southampton on Tuesday with Rahane occupying the middle-order slot left vacant by an injured Rohit Sharma. For now though, Parthiv and Rahane are pencilled in as openers.

India's form in ODIs — a phrase that ought to be tinged with a rosy hue considering that Dhoni lifted the World Cup on April 2 — has been directly proportional to what its openers do upfront. Prior to the World Cup, India lost the ODI series 2-3 in South Africa and it will be instructive to observe the partnerships that its openers charted against the Proteas. The combinations of Tendulkar and Murali Vijay; Rohit Sharma and Vijay; and Rohit and Parthiv were tried and the partnerships remained below par at 3, 21, 4, 1 and 21.

The ‘Men in Blue' subsequently lifted their performance enormously in the World Cup as the old combine of Tendulkar and Sehwag opened with Gambhir stepping in at number three. The runs flowed and partnerships bloomed right from the moment Sehwag slammed a hundred against Bangladesh in the Cup's first contest and when the openers suffered a blip against Lasith Malinga in the final with the score reading 31 for two, Gambhir sealed the cracks with a 97 and Dhoni took centrestage.

Subsequently in the West Indies, Parthiv and Shikhar Dhawan opened together in four ODIs and in one game Manoj Tiwary allied with Parthiv but the alliances remained cold at 29, 8, 26, 20 and 15. India won the series 3-2 but its middle order never had the time to sip a tea and munch a sandwich.

Cut to the present, India needs its openers to tide past the initial skirmishes against seam and swing. Parthiv, eager to firm up his comeback, and Rahane, itching to prove that his exploits in first-class cricket were no flash in the pan, are a bundle of contrasts. Until the regular troika of Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir get back together, Parthiv and Rahane will have an extended run and Dhoni said: “If you think about the next three or four years, these are the players who will be playing at that point of time. So the more experienced they get the better it is.” Runs atop the order and umpires who weigh their referrals with more thought unlike the manner in which Rahul Dravid was dealt with here on Saturday, will help India turn it around.