With a relatively inexperienced bowling attack at its disposal, India will be banking on its batsmen to get the team in position of strenghts and the spotlight especially will be on Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the forthcoming Test series against England.
The preparations have already begun in earnest for the five-Test series between the two teams starting in Nottingham on Wednesday.
And for Kohli and Pujara, the series will be an exceptional test of their batting skills in hostile conditions.
For long, Kohli and Pujara were deemed as the next best thing, the next Tendulkar-Dravid combination and the series in England will be their toughest test. Kohli was a prime target for England when they visited India in 2012-13. The visitors set traps for him, fielders in position as soon as the young batsman tried to drive the ball on either side of the wicket.
As a result they were able to keep him quiet as Kohli garnered only 188 runs in that four-match series. But then he ground his way to a hundred in the last Test at Nagpur and labelled it 'a learning experience'.
There has been no looking back since for Kohli then as he has risen to stardom with his bat. His batting averages in two Tests each in South Africa and New Zealand, were 68 and 71.33 respectively and this is a straight pointer to his ever-growing stature. Now in England, it goes without saying that the team needs an encore from Kohli.
Alternately, Pujara was very successful when he first played against England, also in the 2012-13 home series. He was seemingly unstoppable, notching up 438 runs in four matches at an average of 87.60 with two hundreds (one of them a double-hundred at Mumbai).
Expectations grew thereafter and he seemed comfortable in South Africa, averaging 70 in two Tests. But his form in New Zealand (average 15 in two Tests) left a lot to be desired.
looking to make amends, he has made a strong start to the tour so far, hitting two fifties in as many practice games in leicester and Derby. "The batsmen tried to bat a little too differently than they would in India," India coach Duncan Fletcher has told BCCI.TV this weekend.
"The only actual difference was they had to get used to a bit more bounce."
The English side, led by Alastair Cook, is to arrive in the city on Sunday and will immediately hit their straps two days ahead of the first Test.
Test cricket cannot be a 10-member club: Srini
New Delhi: Believing firmly in the primacy of Test cricket, new ICC chairman N Srinivasan has said that the traditional five-day format "cannot be a 10-member club" forever and added that China are keen to enter the fray if cricket becomes an Olympic sport.
"Test cricket cannot be a 10-men club. So in those countries where there is an opportunity, there is interest and where there is domestic structure (the format should be promoted)," he said.
He spoke about China's plans of taking active interest in the sport. "The Chinese are the member of Asian Cricket Council. A representative of Chinese Cricket Association made it clear that if cricket becomes an Olympic sport then they will plunge into it. But at the moment they are concentrating on other sports," the cricket administrator told NDTV.
Srinivasan who recently reiterated that he had himself "stepped aside" from functioning as the BCCI president in the wake of IPl spot-fixing prove, said he is keen on bringing about a change in the international cricket set-up during his tenure as ICC chief. "I have told all the associates and affiliates that I want to make a change and to that extent the development committee of the ICC composition has been changed. Now, I, as chairman of ICC, will chair the develop committee. It was not so before.
"We have two full member directors also so there is going to be a lot of focus on what we can do and how to bring more competition in cricket by upgrading the skills of those who are on the verge and who are the top associates.
Amla inspires South Africa to big win vs Sri lanka
Colombo: Opener Hashim Amla smashed 109 and Ryan Mclaren took two wickets in three balls as South Africa thrashed Sri lanka by 75 runs in their first one-dayer on Sunday.
Amla, 31, hit eight fours in his composed 130-ball knock and shared a 151-run stand for the third wicket with skipper AB de Villiers (75), helping the visitors to post a formidable 304-5 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Kumar Sangakkara responded with a fine 88 off just 84 balls but Sri lanka were still bundled out for 229 off 40.3 overs. The hosts appeared headed towards victory at one point. But paceman Mclaren dismissed lahiru Thirimanne and Sangakkara in the 38th over to trigger a collapse that saw Sri lanka lose their last five wickets for just 13 runs.
Spinner Imran Tahir was a tad expensive but emerged as the highest wicket taker for the visitors, finishing with 3-50 from seven overs.
Earlier, Sri lanka's unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis took 3-61 including the prized scalp of star all-rounder Jacques Kallis for a duck to peg back South Africa. The visitors got off to a steady start, putting on 58 before losing two batsmen in quick succession.
Opener Quinton de Kock was bowled by Angelo Mathews (1-30) for 27 which included a mighty six over the mid-wicket fence off spinner Sachithra Senanayake (1-49).
Tiwary, Ojha show takes India A to 304/6 vs Aus A
Brisbane: Captain Manoj Tiwary (83) and Naman Ojha (82 batting) hit aggressive half centuries to rescue India A from initial wobble and take them to a comfortable 304 for six on the opening day of the first four-day match against Australia A here on Sunday.
India A lost their three top batsmen midway into the opening session for just 43 runs but Tiwary and Ojha rescued them with fine innings. One-down Jiwanjot Singh also played a part with a 56 after India elected to bat.
Tiwary shared a 134-run stand for the fourth wicket with Jiwanjot to take the visitors out of the wood. After Tiwary was out at 191 for five, his 118-ball innings laced with 12 fours and a six, Ojha took over to steady the Indian innings and took them to 304/6 at stumps at Allan Border Field here. Brief Scores: India A: 304 for 6 in 89.1 overs (Manoj Tiwary 83, Naman Ojha 82 batting; Mitchell Marsh 2/46).