Red and yellow soil awaits green England

The story goes that Ahmedabad turned from settlement to city when the Mughal emperor Ahmed Shah, on his travels, was so captivated by the sight of two rabbits chasing away a pack of wild dogs, that he instantly gave orders to go forth and build. Nasser Hussain should be told this, and then reminded of the first question he was asked on Indian soil almost a month ago - "Why were you nicknamed Bunny?"

The Motera has been made over, and that's not good news for the rabbits in Hussain's inexperienced team. It used to be very placid here, just like you'd expect in the land of Gandhi. In a colts' match last month one team made 480 in a day and a half and the other cruised to 420 for 5 by the end of the third day. The last Test here, between India and New Zealand two seasons ago, ended in a high-scoring draw, and this time last year Sourav Ganguly amassed 144 in a team total of 306 in a one-dayer against Zimbabwe.

But Nadeem Memon, the curator on loan from the Mumbai Cricket Association, reckons that this surface will offer more to the bowlers and take turn from the second day. Sourav Ganguly said that the pitch had some grass on it, but it felt like a statement made with an eye to the end of the game, allowing him to claim for the second time in a row that he had won on a sporting wicket.

The pitch - and the outfield - are essentially sandy, because of the Sabarmati river that flows close by. Memon has emptied 65 tonnes of organic fertiliser and yellow muram along with red soil to bind the wicket and give it more bounce. There is also a lot of early-morning dew that makes the outfield almost puddly. But it quickly percolates through the sand and the sun soon comes out. Slow, scheming sub-continental cricket becomes the order of the day.

For India, the only real question was whether to play one Turbanator or two. Harbhajan Singh will spreadeagle with flair and land the SG ball right on the seam, but the curator reckoned the pitch would perfectly suit Sarandeep Singh and his slow, grippier turn. Ganguly indicated his preference at the press conference - Anil Kumble, Harbhajan and "Sachin and Sehwag who can both bowl spin". Sure enough, Sarandeep was left out of the 12, and Connor Williams included as a token presence.

Javagal Srinath, who looked fresh from a two-week break with a broken hand, will certainly play. He will be partnered by Tinu Yohannan, whose first name suggests he should play ring-a-ring-a-roses down by the see-saw, not flit in languidly from 20 yards and hurl bouncy inswingers.

That combination, with no third seamer, would then leave England's likely attack of two spinners and three seamers to contend with an awfully powerful batting line-up, with either Virender Sehwag or VVS Laxman coming in as low as No. 7. The one man out of form, Ganguly, has been in batting classes with Mohinder Amarnath, one of India's finest technicians, now a coach.

They had a chat at Mohali and Amarnath has travelled down to Ahmedabad solely at Ganguly's request. "I can't tell you what I've been working on," said Amarnath, "but I don't think it's a specific problem with the short ball. Everything will fall into place once he addresses some fundamental things."

Meanwhile, a longhaired sadhu - who claimed to have, at some point in his life, eaten meat, consumed alcohol, and watched Clive Lloyd live in Mumbai - tied a red string around the wrists of Srinath, Tendulkar and selection-committee chairman Chandu Borde, and sprinkled sandalwood powder on their heads. He even promised Ganguly a century. Nothing, in India's quest for 3-0, has been left to chance.

India (probable)
1 Shiv Sunder Das, 2 Deep Dasgupta, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Virender Sehwag, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Javagal Srinath, 11 Tinu Yohannan.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India. He will be writing the 'Wisden Verdict' each day on India's performance at Ahmedabad.

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