By Amit - 8 Aug, '03
August 8 2002

As always, the buildup to this test has been tremendous. The two teams are reasonably balanced. Although the result of the first test may not show it, all fans would agree that the series could still end in an Indian victory. In the first Test the home team, although lacking in talent and flair, proved to be a strong unit under the (controversial) leadership of Nasser Hussain. The Indian team again showed that while they have an embarrassment of riches in the batting department, boasting stars like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and Virender Sehwag, the discipline and concentration that is so valuable in a test match was nowhere to be found. India's worries, however, should be with the bowling department, as the Trent Bridge track looks to be a batsmen's dream.

What's happened here before

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When India last played here, in 1996, they batted first and compiled a massive 521 runs, with Tendulkar and Ganguly both racking up massive centuries. If India thought they had won the match, they were cruelly brought back to reality when the Englishmen totaled 564 in reply, with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton scoring centuries. The match fizzled out into a tame draw. This should be a cause for concern since India's attack consisted of Srinath, Prasad, Kumble and Raju, although this isn't an amazing bowling attack, one can be sure that Sourav Ganguly wouldn't mind having at least Srinath in the team now. Teams playing at Trent Bridge will be looking to bat first, in the 48 matches played here, the team winning the toss has elected to field only 6 times.

Although in most matches Trent Bridge has been a run feast, its last match tells us something completely different. When Australia and England met here in 2001 they played one of the most entertaining matches of the summer Ashes series. England won the toss and decided to bat first, it seemed like a good decision, right? Wrong. Glenn McGrath snared 5-49 as England were scuttled out for 185. If English fans thought the match was over at that point, they were pleasantly surprised when Alex Tudor emulated McGrath, taking 5-44, Australia managed a 5 run lead as they fell to 190 all out. England could have taken the initiative and pushed Australia into a corner at this point, but some amazing spin bowling from Shane Warne (6-33) knocked the hosts out for 165. Set 158 to win the Australians finished the match in style, scoring the required runs in 29.2 overs.

What can we expect?

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Although a match like this may mean that the Trent Bridge track is a much more sporting one than the one the Indians saw last, a draw still seems the most likely result. However, with Harmison debuting for the Englishmen and Harbajan Singh back for the Indians, we may have an interesting match on our hands. Oh yes, and that Sachin Tendulkar fellow is due for a big innings isn't he?