Nagpur: The absence of Rahul Dravid, just ahead of the big series against South Africa, has been a big blow to the Indian team. A player of his class and composure is obviously hard to replace and with South Africa boasting of a good pace attack, it is important for the Indians to find the right man for the No. 3 spot.

South African skipper Graeme Smith was spot on when he said, "The No. 3 position is a very key position in the batting line-up. So who they (India) bat at number three will be really interesting to see. The rest of the guys are pretty set in their batting positions."

Well, as of now the man most likely to walk in at number three for India is the Tamil Nadu batsman Murali Vijay. Interestingly, the 25-year old made his Test debut at the same ground, during the last Test match of the India-Australia series in November 2008, when he was rushed into the side as a late replacement for opener Gautam Gambhir. Vijay opened with Sehwag and gave the team a solid start scoring 33 and 41.

Given his technique, and solidity, Vijay is the obvious choice to take over from Dravid. Another Tamil Nadu batsman, S Badrinath, will be making his Test debut at the age of 30. The Tamil Nadu skipper has played three One-dayers for India but his big moment awaits him 24 hours down the line.

VVS Laxman meanwhile had a good stint at the nets and is all set to bat at his position of number five. The Hyderabadi's finger injury has healed and he appeared to be in no sort of bother.