It's entirely appropriate that the 2000th Test — and the 100th between India and England will be staged at Lord's. The enchantment of this great ground, which says it's the home of cricket with the simple, unaffected certainty only the truth can confer, has many layers. It's beautiful. The yellow-stone arches outside; the iconic red-brick pavilion with its period fireplaces; the sloping-tent roofs of the grandstand; the classic style of the tavern; the weather-vane that conveys the wind's intentions: aesthetically Lord's has no equal.
But mere physical beauty doesn't bring everlasting appeal. Lord's has soul. It emits a subtle sense that it is timeless, that it indeed is cricket's Valhalla, as Neville Cardus described it. It has managed to modernise itself without losing its essence.
At this grand venue will India and England begin on Thursday what promises to be a glorious series. One of India's few vulnerabilities is its starting ability. It has done astonishingly well in rebounding from debilitating defeat but its failure to ignite at once is what has forced India to find such brilliance when back-pedalling.
The lack of a proper warm-up period has played a part in India starting cold in the last few years. Perhaps the touring side got this out of the way in the practice game at Taunton. There's no doubt India will miss Virender Sehwag, ever a man for a stirring start. Sehwag unhinges a bowling attack like no other. The rest of the batting will need to adjust to his absence in the first two Tests.
Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund will have done well if they manage the success the makeshift pair of Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik had in 2007. That both are left-handed may work to their benefit, at least till the bowlers settle. Gambhir will be keen to test himself against England's bowling in conditions they enjoy. He is returning after an injury, but there are few batsmen who work as hard on their game as Gambhir, and there's no doubt he'll have done all he can to be ready.
Abhinav grabbed his opportunity in the West Indies, showing that he had the temperament for the stage and the dexterity to modify his game on the go. His technique will be severely searched for weaknesses here in England. He'll learn much from the experience. At the very least, he'll be able to say he played at Lord's.
A lot will depend on Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and V.V.S. Laxman. When they came here in 2007, experts of nuance, such as Michael Atherton, suggested that their physical skills were in decline. Since then, Tendulkar and Laxman have had the most prolific phases of their career; Dravid has had a revival as well.
Hundredth ton Tendulkar is in pursuit of his 100th international century, but between them, the Big Three have 99 Test centuries as if there wasn't enough for the statisticians to delight in! Suresh Raina should keep his place at six. His Test career was imperilled during the tour of South Africa, but he worked on his play against the short ball and proved his worth in the West Indies. His counter-attacking century against Somerset shows the value he can provide in a crisis. Another challenge, against the moving ball, awaits him.
But for instances of homespun brilliance one of which was here at Lord's in 2007 when he hit balls to the outfield (instead of blocking them) to hinder England's quest to rush their overs in before the rain came — M.S. Dhoni's Test batting has fallen short of potential. India will need him at his best, as batsman, keeper, and captain.
Lord's, in recent years, has been good for batting, especially when the sun is out. But considering the wet weather in the prelude to the first Test and the forecast for cloudy conditions (with rain) during the game, there will be periods of play when the bowlers hold sway.
India's batting must resist the swing and deception of James Anderson, the pace and bounce of Chris Tremlett, and the spin and aggression of Graeme Swann. It's India's bowling, however, that has a greater responsibility — that of dismissing a formidable English batting line-up twice. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who was irresistible in the Caribbean, have to strike with the new ball and continue to bowl with intensity. The likes of Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott can't be allowed to bed down.
The squads (from): England: Andrew Strauss (capt.), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, and Tim Bresnan. India: M.S. Dhoni (capt. & wk), Gautam Gambhir (vice-capt.), Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, S. Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, and Wriddhiman Saha. Umpires: Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf. Third Umpire: Marais Erasmus. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle Hours of play (IST): 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., 6.10 p.m. to 8.10 p.m., and 8.30 p.m. to close.
