Virender Sehwag [ Images ] has forced many a bowler into submission with his explosive batting, but on Tuesday he doffed his hat to Gautam Gambhir [ Images ], describing him as the best Indian opener after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar [ Images ].

Gambhir (167) slammed his fourth successive century on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka [ Images ] on Tuesday, and Sehwag, who himself scored a blistering 131, said his younger opening partner can score another hundred in the next match.

"He (Gambhir) is best opener India [ Images ] has after Gavaskar. He has hit four successive Test centuries and already has eight Test centuries in 25-30 Tests. I think with the kind of form he is in, he can slam a ton in the next Test as well," Sehwag said, after India piled 417 for 2 on the opening day.

"He was in good form and hitting well. So we were still scoring at over three, and his boundaries took the pressure off me and I could wait before playing my shots," he said.

Sehwag was seen interacting with Gambhir after the left-hander foozled a shot against Muttiah Muralitharan [ Images ] in the morning session.

Asked what he told his Delhi [ Images ] team-mate, Sehwag said, "I told him to think big. You are good enough to score four successive centuries. Stay three hours and you will automatically get a hundred."

Sehwag said India will look to pile 700-plus runs on Wednesday to put enough pressure on Sri Lanka so that they crumble.

Sehwag and Gambhir were involved in a blistering 233-run opening stand that proved the bedrock of India's stunning batting display on the opening day of the second Test and the right-hander insists his teammates cannot relax or relent yet.

"We are in a positive frame of mind. We have scored a good total for the opening day and scored at a good rate (4.63) to boot. Tomorrow, we will try to get 700-800 and then put pressure on the Lankans and get those 20 wickets," he said. 

Sri Lanka got just two wickets after a hard day's toil but Sehwag believes his bowling colleagues can overcome the lack of life on the track and bowl India to victory. 

"We bowled out Australia [ Images ] twice on a placid Mohali track [last year] and there is no reason why we cannot do it here. I hope Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh), (S) Sreesanth [ Images ] and (Pragyan) Ojha will do it for us," he said. 

Sehwag's own knock was a well-paced compilation, as the Delhi dasher overcame a wobbly morning hour before blooming into his aggressive self. 

"With little moisture in the air I knew the ball would do something and I had to be careful. They had three spinners and I fancied my chances against them. So I took time and concentrated a lot before playing my shots," he said. 

"In Ahmedabad [ Images ] they dropped me and here too they grassed one. I told myself to play the first 8-10 overs and concentrate hard. I tried to leave balls outside off-stump and it's only after first hour that I played my shots," said the explosive opener, who got a life on zero, when Mahela Jayawardene [ Images ] dropped him off Chanaka Welegedara [ Images ]."