India will launch their gruelling three-match cricket Test series against England
at the historic Lord's here tomorrow, heavily relying on their famed batsmen to
provide the inspiration in their quest for a rare series win.
It will probably be the last English summer for the famous batting quintet --
captain Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and
VVS Laxman -- and the four stalwarts would be keen to make an impression in what
promises to be thrilling series.
While the Indian batting appears to be strong on paper, it is the lack of experience
in the bowling department which would make it necessary for the bastmen to deliver
the goods against the home team.
The Indians have had enough time to acclimatise to the conditions
having played a series in Ireland and two warm-up games in England. Most of
the batsmen have got one or two big knocks under their belt and it is now a
matter of carrying their form into the series.
Although the visitors are yet to finalise the composition for the first game,
it is more or less certain that they will go in with seven batsmen and four
specialist bowlers -- a formula which has served them well on overseas tours
for quite some time.
Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Kaarthick are like to
open the innings while the middle order comprising Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly
and Laxman has plenty of experience to tackle the English attack which would
badly miss the services of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.
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