Series win would be Sachin' s career highlight

India 'properly prepared' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar says it would be the highlight of his career if India can complete the mammoth task of beating Australia in the four-Test series that starts on Boxing Day. No visiting team has won a Test series in Australia since West Indies in 1992-93 and Tendulkar, who is embarking on his fourth tour of Australia, is desperate to taste the ultimate success before he retires.

"I think it would be the most important tour if we can pull it off," Tendulkar said. "Beating Australia is obviously the ultimate thing because the way they have played for so many years makes it a special tour. Having come here four times, it would be a wonderful occasion."

India last visited Australia in 2003-04, when they won the Adelaide Test and secured a 1-1 series draw. Australia have now triumphed in their past 14 Tests and two more would see them equal their own record set under Steve Waugh, but it was India who broke that winning streak in 2000-01 and Tendulkar is keen to help them do it again.

Their tour started with a three-day game against Victoria at the Junction Oval but only 48 overs were possible because of Melbourne's wet weather and play was abandoned completely on Saturday. Some parts of Melbourne had more than 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain in the week to Saturday morning - most of it in the last two days - although a warm change was expected by Christmas.

During the rain breaks India trained at the MCG's indoor nets and if Melbourne's weather remains nasty they will be back there several more times before the first Test. But Australia's coach Tim Nielsen said India would still be fresh from their tough series against Pakistan and Tendulkar agreed that they were already primed for Boxing Day.

"We have come here properly prepared because although the practice match was rained off, we have come here having played Test cricket, which is extremely important," Tendulkar said. "We are geared up and as far as I am concerned we are ready and we would like to go out there and put on a good show. We are confident."

However, he felt it would have been ideal if the players had more time to rest and recuperate between Test series. India arrived just days after a demanding home series against Pakistan and their season includes a massive seven back-to-back Tests.

"We can have more cricket, but it's equally important to have a little more gap in between the tours," he said. "But the international calendar is very tight so there's not much time to go back home and assess things."

Tendulkar made an entertaining, albeit brief 19 against Victoria and he is certain that the knee injury that kept him out of the final Test against Pakistan is behind him. He also wants to keep up his impressive form in Australia - from 12 Tests Tendulkar has made 1029 runs at 54.15. But India's hopes rest not only on Tendulkar but also on how quickly his team-mates can adjust to the bouncier pitches in Australia.

"All the batters have scored runs so they are feeling confident," he said. "What you do out there in the middle matters. You can practice various things but you have to go out there and get used to the occasion. Once you calm down your nerves, everything falls into place."

Ganguly on his golden year and more

'I always believed I had it in me to play'

Interview by Anand Vasu


There's a steaming mug of tea in his hand when he opens the door of his suite to let me in. "Shall I make you a cup?" he offers. "Or perhaps you'd prefer Coke or Pepsi?" I turn them all down, firmly but politely, for I'm nervous and can't think of anything but the questions I have for Sourav Ganguly, in this much-postponed interview that's finally arrived. I've rehearsed my questions but immediately make a nervous mistake: "So, 100 Tests must be special for you. You've seen Sachin, Rahul and Sourav reach the milestone ..."

I'm nervous because I sit before a Ganguly who I, like many others, had sat in judgment of not long ago, and pronounced his career finished. Now Ganguly Mark II is on the verge of playing his 100th Test, and has been India's best batsman in the year gone by. But he puts me at ease, at once disarmingly warm and polite, asking about my career and family. Once I begin to ask questions, and he to answer, it all becomes simple once more. Because he's not expecting an apology. He has been the same person, through different phases of batting; in some ways he's been through it all. And yet, he wants to see more.



More where those came from: Ganguly acknowledges the cheers for his 239 against Pakistan at Bangalore



Does 100 Tests mean a lot to you? You've seen Sachin, Rahul and Anil reach this milestone already.
Yeah, it does. It's a huge milestone for any cricketer, and not many in Indian cricket have achieved it. Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, and among the current lot Anil [Kumble], Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul [Dravid]. So it will be good to join that club.

Among the names you have mentioned in the current crop, you've had a rougher ride than the others. So in some way do you look at it as a journey against the odds? Someone from Bengal playing 100 Tests ...
We as a state have not produced many big players. But I hope in the future we start doing that, because places like Bombay and Karnataka and Delhi have produced Test players one after the other. In a state where cricket is so well-loved, it's important that we keep producing players who turn up and play for India.

Let's just divide your career into a few phases. First there's 1992 to 1996, when you played one game and then were dropped, then 1996 when you made your Test debut and went on till 2000, then captaincy from 2000 to 2005, and finally 2005 to now. Talk us through the many ages of Ganguly.
In 1992 I was pretty young. I went to Australia, hardly got to play any cricket, just played one one-day international and then got left out. I played domestic cricket for four years. I was young then and it didn't matter a lot to me then, being left out. Then I came back in 1996 and obviously had a good start to my Test career and then played on. In 2000 I became captain and stayed till 2005, and this was a very successful time in Indian cricket, so it was a satisfying tenure for me. I was left out again in 2005. [I'm] happy to be back and performing as I have been since I made my comeback.

Do you think captaincy came to you a bit early?
Yes. I was just five seasons old in international cricket. Sachin didn't want to lead the side after that Australia series [1999-2000] and I was the vice-captain then. I was a certainty in both forms of the game, so from that point of view I was the choice. But in terms of the number of years I had played for India, it was a bit early.

You took over at a tough time, at the end of match-fixing. You pledged on TV that your team was clean and would continue to be clean. Was that a tough time to take charge?
Yes it was. It surprised me at that stage because I was not even aware that these things could actually happen. For those reasons we got a crop of young players. Yuvraj [Singh], Zaheer [Khan] came into the scene in 2000. There were only four seniors in the side in me, Sachin, Rahul and Anil. To build a team helped us. Players like [Virender] Sehwag, Harbhajan [Singh], Ashish Nehra did the job in one-day cricket. And the benefits are being reaped now. These guys have since become match-winners.

You've spoken a bit about youngsters coming through in that period. But the batting also did well; the results were strong. Against Australia, the best team in the world, India won at home and drew away. Was that a golden age for Indian cricket?
Yes, of course. And we beat Pakistan in Pakistan after 50 years and we went to the World Cup final. We played two mini-World Cup finals in that time. People like Sachin, Rahul, [VVS] Laxman and Sehwag were batting at their best. That probably helped the team.




"In 1992 I was a young boy, 18 or 19, and it didn't matter to me. I was happy playing for Bengal and just playing first-class cricket. At that age you don't worry about anything. When I lost my place in the side in 2005, it was different "









Your leadership played a big role in this. Especially what you did with the younger players. What did you do differently?
I just set them free. As a captain I had certain ideas - which I see pretty much in Kumble now. I was a firm believer that every cricketer needs to get a fair chance. I had decided that I was going to take the pressure off the players and let them play freely. Which really helped them do justice to their talent. At the same time I had Rahul, Sachin, Anil and Laxman, who themselves were playing outstanding cricket.

What you brought to the team and what you are are different things. You're a polite, mild-mannered person but your team was rough and ready for a scrap.
I realised that we played well when we were aggressive. When we took the foot off the accelerator, we were a completely different team. We needed to get the team charged up and we got results against Australia in 2001. They came here ... Steve Waugh had won everywhere but here [in India]. He was putting pressure on the team and we were a young side and they knew they were the top team. The only way we could have done well against them was by being aggressive.

One of the things that was always spoken of in Indian cricket was regionalism. But your reign as captain saw an end to that, to a large extent.
To be honest, when I played cricket even before I was captain, I didn't notice much. Maybe I was too young to do that. When I became captain my entire responsibility was to pick the best possible 15 for India. I wanted to do that and I had no pressures from anywhere to pick someone or drop someone. I made it pretty clear that if I'm captain, the best team has to play.

Another important thing that happened at the time was the appointment of India's first foreign coach. You had your differences with John Wright, but in hindsight, and especially in the light of what followed, it was a very healthy working relationship, wasn't it?
We worked very well. We had mutual respect for each other. There will be differences in opinion. He'll have an opinion on something and I'll try and give my side of the story. At the end of the day, I always feel it's the captain that counts. Because I have to take decisions in the middle.

John was a fantastic person. He was responsible in changing the outlook of Indian cricket. He made the boys realise that winning overseas is important, and that it was not just about winning at home. He was responsible in getting Harbhajan to bowl the way he did against Australia in 2001.

Towards the end of your tenure you seemed to be weighed down by it all, especially when your own batting form dipped. Would you agree with that assessment?
When you don't perform well as captain, in any country, and particularly in the subcontinent, you will have pressures. Probably it's a coincidence that in the last phase of my captaincy I didn't perform well with the bat. But during my entire tenure I tried to keep captaincy and batting separate. When I went out to bat I never thought I was captain. Even when I did not score with the bat, I knew I had to take decisions on the field that would make the team win. In the later stages it was just a coincidence that I lost the captaincy when my batting form was not good.



With John Wright at Trent Bridge in 2002: 'We worked very well. We had mutual respect for each others'



Wright has since admitted that he probably stayed on longer than he should have. Do you think maybe there was a similar situation with you and the captaincy?
No, I don't think so. John wanted to go after the Pakistan series [in 2003-04]. But that had a lot more to do with family reasons than cricket. He had two young children, and to be honest, he had been away from New Zealand for four or five years. We used to go on tour and then return home, but he used to return to India, which was away from home. From that point of view it was harder for him because we would invariably go home, he wouldn't.

You were out of the side from 1992 to 1996. Then again, you were out in 2005. How would you compare the two phases?
They're two completely different things. In 1992 I was a young boy, 18 or 19, and it didn't matter to me. I was happy playing for Bengal and just playing first-class cricket. At that age you don't worry about anything. When I lost my place in the side in 2005, it was different. I was 32, I'd lost my captaincy - for whatever reasons; there was a lot of controversy going around. That was not a very happy way to lose my place in the side. Those two situations were completely different.

What kept you going when you were left out the second time around? What sort of work did you do?
I worked on my game and I got a lot of time for myself. When I was away from the hustle and bustle of international cricket, the hotels, airports, day-in and day-out, that's a different grind. The fatigue ... I was completely out of the system, but I always believed I had it in me to play. There were a lot of tough tours coming and I knew that if people don't do well, my turn will come. It was just a belief and hope and things could have gone the other way as well. But that's what destiny is all about.

From the outside it appears that you're a lot calmer at the crease now. Your composure is intact. Is this a change since you made your comeback?
It depends, Anand. When you play well, a lot of things look good. When you're not playing well, you try things and it doesn't work. That's why this is sport. Obviously I have more time to myself now and captaincy does take a load in India. As a captain you have to handle the team, your own game, media, selection, getting tours working - so it is not easy. Now I have more time for myself, to work on my game. I can think about what I need to do to help the team which keeps me mentally fresh.

So you would agree that batting is a lot about keeping your mind free and sorting the mental aspects?
Yeah, of course. Anything is about keeping your mind free. The more you start thinking about other things, it doesn't help.




"To be honest, I've not seen anything special, except for Yuvraj and Sehwag in the batting, and Harbhajan, Sreesanth and RP. Zaheer is a seasoned campaigner, so I'm not including him in this bracket. We need some more quality players coming through, especially in terms of batting"


Which of your innings since your comeback has given you the most satisfaction? And you have a few to choose from.
To be very honest the first knock in Johannesburg was very crucial. It was my comeback and it was a difficult wicket and we won a Test match in South Africa for the first time. My knock in Nottingham, when me and Sachin had a crucial stand, that was satisfying - also in a match India won. A hundred at Eden Gardens, my first hundred at home, that was satisfying. Also my first double-hundred, [after] we were 61 for 4 ... it's been good.

You're not known for your fitness, but still you've had a long career. What's the secret of your longevity?
I have done my fitness work. I'm not as fit as a Mohammad Kaif or as some of these younger guys are. When we started our cricket, the idea of fitness was completely different. It has changed over the years. People like me and Rahul have worked on our fitness. We may not be the quickest on the field. But we do our cardio and weights, which actually helps when you bat.

Your technique is not as compact as Sachin's or Rahul's. Have you had to work that much harder?
No, it's not as compact. My technique was never as compact as those two, but I have other gifts. My timing. I could hit the good balls for four and maybe other people may not have had this ability. I had to adjust my game accordingly.

I've realised what my strengths are and what my strengths are not, and played accordingly. By God's grace I had this natural ability of being a very good player on the off side. That helped in international cricket, because that's the channel where bowlers like to bowl and try to get you out. Every player is going to be different, but every player should find a way to get runs. I've just found my way.

You've spoken about some of the difficulties in leading India. What's the most difficult part?
The most difficult part of leading India is time management. And you have to be thick-skinned. You cannot worry about what's going on around you. You have to lead with your best intentions. You have to wake up in the morning or go to sleep in the night thinking, "Today I've done what is the best for the good of Indian cricket." There will be opinions. Thousands of people are watching, people are making livelihoods out of this game, so there will be criticism. If you start going through all of them, then you'll have a very tough time. You have to learn how to switch yourself off from all this and do what is good for the game.



'You have to learn how to switch yourself off from all this and do what is good for the game'



Rahul Dravid has said that the reactions of the fans and the media sometimes lacks proportion. Would you agree?
I've had my ways of dealing with this. And I've told Jam this once before as well. You should not be worried about how the media and public react. They can react however they want. It's how you as captain react to what they say that's important. You have to learn to keep yourself out of all this.

To digress for a second: I have criticised you repeatedly over the years, in my writing and on television. I'm seen to be anti-Ganguly. Why are you sitting down with me and speaking to me?
No, no, no. I have never thought like that. I have never worried about criticism. If I don't play well, I don't expect you to write that I've played well. What only matters is that it should not get personal. Anand, I'm a pretty free person. I don't have hiccups like this and I don't carry baggage. Even with my team-mates, when I was captain, I would get angry with them on the field at times, but off the field I'd go out of my way to back them. I've got no issues with criticism. Sometimes it helps.

What is preventing India, with its large talent pool and vast resources, from becoming a dominant force in world cricket?
I think we have become more dominant over time. Playing at home we've always been very good. But our performance overseas in the last five-seven years has changed. I was reading recently, probably on your website, that India has won more matches overseas than any team other than Australia, in recent times. That's a pretty good sign. But we need some quality players. We've had a crop of players - Tendulkar, Dravid, myself, Laxman, Anil, in the 34-35 years bracket - who have been outstanding for Indian cricket. We need some consistent talent coming through. To be honest, I've not seen anything special, except for Yuvraj and Sehwag in the batting, and Harbhajan, Sreesanth and RP. Zaheer is a seasoned campaigner, so I'm not including him in this bracket. We need some more quality players coming through, especially in terms of batting.

If you could change something about Indian cricket what would it be?
Try and take the pressure off the players as much as possible. Let them play as freely as they can.

'Australia will dominate India'

Australia will dominate the Tests, and India will need to play smart and wily cricket if they are to challenge the hosts. India's depleted pace attack will be their weakness, but if their batsmen challenge Australia's fast bowlers and exploit the weakness in their spin department, they could cause Australia problems. Ian Chappell, Sanjay Manjrekar and Tony Greig preview India's tour Down Under

Ponting gains revenge with century in series win

Ricky Ponting wanted to regain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy more than any of his team-mates and his determination translated into consecutive centuries as he commandeered a dominant 2-0 series win. Ponting was resting when New Zealand whitewashed Australia in February and his mission of revenge was completed after his 134 not out set up a 114-run victory in Hobart.

His 107 had done a similar job in securing the opening win in Adelaide, but the home team had some tense moments at Bellerive Oval before Ponting arrived to overcome a deceptive pitch. Australia, who had rested Adam Gilchrist, fell to 3 for 87 after being sent in and needed rescuing by Ponting, who steadied and then accelerated on the way to a rewarding total of 6 for 282.

It was far too much for New Zealand, who lost both openers by the fifth over and had half their order gone by 72. Only Scott Styris held firm with 75 as his team-mates faltered against an Australia attack that took advantage of the low-bouncing surface by constantly changing their pace and running their fingers across the seam.

Brett Lee ensured the reply began badly when he out-thought Brendon McCullum, who chased a slow and wide outswinger, and they slipped to 2 for 8 after Jamie How edged Lee to the sharp Brad Haddin. Things didn't improve for the visitors and their batting concerns remain ahead of the Bangladesh series starting on Boxing Day.

James Hopes entered with Mathew Sinclair's wicket with his first ball, an offcutter, which was a delivery copied by Shaun Tait in knocking over Ross Taylor. The score of 4 for 60 quickly became worse when Jacob Oram (2) flicked Hopes to deep-backward square.

On Wednesday Brad Hogg may be back in the Test team and he warmed up with two victims in his opening over, leaving New Zealand in chaos at 7 for 88. Michael Clarke's sharp take behind square leg got rid of Gareth Hopkins on 9, although the television replays provided the usual doubt over ground-level catches, and Hogg also collected Daniel Vettori's edge.

Styris enjoyed some free-swinging, hitting Lee for a trio of boundaries in a row before being bowled by a yorker. The end came at 168 after 34 overs, with Hogg and Lee collecting three wickets each. "They've been a bit too good for us," Vettori said before watching Ponting raise the trophy.

The brightest spot for the visitors is that they can now head home after being out-played by a team that shed the pain of losing the trophy. Before the series Ponting spoke of his desire to grab the prize back and he accepted the responsibility, stepping away from the morning danger with an innings of such hard work that he must have picked up blisters. He stayed till the end - his 133-ball effort included ten fours - and walked off with the knowledge that his team was pretty safe.

After turning 33 on Wednesday, Ponting celebrated with an air punch as he brought up his 25th century in the 39th over, which also included Andrew Symonds' fifty and his lbw dismissal to Kyle Mills. Apart from wanting a big total to secure the victory, Ponting was desperate for a convincing performance so he could watch his greyhound First Innings in Tasmania's biggest dog race after play. He got his wish.

However, the lure could not help him dominate throughout the display, but he produced some wonderful passages before being forced to drop back to take singles. Runs had to be earned and he managed some pulls and lofted drives off the fast bowlers, and a couple of legside sixes from Jeetan Patel's offspin. Symonds provided useful support with a 52 that was highlighted by three fours through point off a Mark Gillespie over and Haddin and Hopes chipped in at the death.

Oram's medium pace had given New Zealand an early boost and he had 2 for 18 off his first eight overs, including the wickets of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. Batting on a surface that looked great but was almost impossible to find fluency on, the Australia top order struggled and Hayden, Hussey and Clarke each made terminal misjudgments.

The same problems were copied by New Zealand, but they didn't have a Ponting. They also missed the quality of their opponents' bowling and were particularly hurt by the expensive returns of Gillespie and Patel, who gave away 125 in their combined 16 overs. Australia's attack was much more frightening and frugal, driving the side towards the only one-day or Test trophy missing from its collection.

Ponting deserved to be pleased as he raced for the dog track. "It's been a good couple of weeks to tell the truth," he said. "I feel like I've played okay." He's been much better than that.

Kumble confident experience is enough

Anil Kumble has always been a master of turn but even he had a hard time spinning a convincing argument that India could beat Australia in their four-Test series. They have the motivation - five or more of their champion veterans are desperate for success on what will almost certainly be their last tour of Australia - but how do you defeat a team that has not lost a home Test series since 1992-93?

Kumble's men arrived in Melbourne eight days ahead of the Boxing Day Test and the captain spent his first press conference trying to persuade the media that India could break that spell. He ticked off the reasons India would be a threat, then found just as many causes for his own side to be concerned about Australia's power. He chose his words carefully, which was not surprising for a man who has heard the spin from his captaincy predecessors on visits to Australia, and has seen the results.

Fittingly, his major argument revolved around spin, which he declared as Australia's biggest weakness. Shane Warne was proving difficult to replace, he said, and India's batsmen would not mind facing up to a third-choice slow bowler with Stuart MacGill unavailable. "If the wickets help spin, then definitely we have the advantage," Kumble said. "It will definitely help us if it turns in Melbourne and Sydney."

Brad Hogg is in Australia's 12-man squad but may yet be squeezed out if a four-man pace attack is favoured. Hogg was impressive in the recent ODI series against India, although Kumble said facing him in a Test match would be a completely different scenario.

Kumble brightened when he mulled over Australia's double-loss of Warne and Glenn McGrath. Then he remembered that neither of them played last time India toured Australia in 2003-04, when Warne was enduring his drugs ban and McGrath had an ankle injury.

"It definitely gives you a bit of confidence," he said. "But having said that the last time around when we played here Glenn was injured and Warney was not there, so ..." His voice trailed off. If Kumble is a man who sees the glass as half-full, the sentence might have finished with "and we didn't lose". If his glass is half-empty, the thought could have been "no Warne, no McGrath and we still couldn't beat them."

India did play well on that visit, securing a 1-1 draw and Kumble saw no reason that their style of play should change this time around. But he was careful not to make any predictions that would come back to bite him.

"Most of the senior cricketers probably are here on their last tour to Australia, so it's very important that we go back victorious. But not many people come here and go back victorious," he said. "We know that Australia is a tough opposition and I think we have the experience and the quality to go out there and do our best."

Exactly how much experience and quality India will put on the field in the first Test is still up in the air. Virender Sehwag was a late addition to the squad and they are also keen to play Yuvraj Singh - if they can find a place for him in their strong batting line-up. Kumble was not concerned about chopping and changing an order that had been successful against England and Pakistan, although he was still unsure who would get a run in their only warm-up game, a three-day encounter against Victoria at the Junction Oval starting on Thursday.

Kumble was at least confident that India's recent Test series victories against England and Pakistan had prepared them well, whereas Australia have had only two Tests against Sri Lanka since their Ashes triumph in 2006-07. "Australia is always tough whether they've played enough cricket or not," he said. "[But] in that sense, we are pretty well prepared."

Squad Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh.

Hogg banks on MCG pitch

Brad Hogg hopes Melbourne's drop-in pitch will help earn him a Test recall after a four-year absence. The condition of the MCG surface will be crucial for Australia's selectors as they decide between four fast men or the more likely make-up of three quicks and Hogg.

The pitch has led to drawn-out first-class games this season, but Hogg was able to break through with eight wickets to lead Western Australia to a Pura Cup victory in October. "I liked it as a spin bowler," Hogg said of the ground in the Australian. "It's always in your favour having a good performance there under your belt."

Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, will not analyse the pitch only to see how lively it will be for the fast men but also to consider how the surface will cause wear to the ball. "I don't think it's necessarily a matter of how much juice it has in it, we'll look at whether we think it's going to reverse, which is a big issue for Taity and all the quicks," Hilditch told AAP. "Whether that'll be more of a factor come the end of the game than spin, you really can't decide that until you see the wicket."

Hilditch said a balanced attack would be selected to suit the conditions. "The pace bowlers are bowling particularly well and they probably are a little more proven at Test level at this point," he said, "but Hoggy's a really experienced spinner."

Stuart MacGill's wrist surgery has allowed Hogg, 36, a chance to play against India after he was part of the squad for the opening Test against Sri Lanka in November. "To be able to represent Australia in a Boxing Day Test, even if I'm 12th man, makes me ecstatic," Hogg, who has appeared in four Tests, said. "It's just good to achieve something that you've always wanted to as a child."

Stuart Clark, who is a certain starter on Boxing Day, "wasn't that impressed" when he played a Pura Cup game at the ground for New South Wales. "The pitch was very hard work for bowlers," he told the Courier-Mail.

"Let's hope they can do something about it and make it more competitive for everyone, not just low and slow and how the batters want it. The easiest way to sum it up was by about the 10th over of each innings there was only one slip in place and a lot of short covers."

India start at an Australian stronghold

his time next week India would have begun another attempt to win their first Test series in Australia. Their opening game is at an Australian stronghold - the Melbourne Cricket Ground - where the hosts have won eight consecutive Tests since they beat India in 1999-2000. Since then, Australia have also brushed aside West Indies, South Africa, England and Pakistan, making their winning streak at the MCG the second longest at a particular venue.

For two decades after the Second World War, West Indies were hard to beat at the Kensington Oval in Barbados; they won four and drew 11 of the 15 Tests played there. "Hard to beat" soon became "impossible to draw against" as Clive Lloyd's team started a streak of 12 consecutive victories with a nine-wicket win against Australia in March 1978. Their dominance in Barbados ended in April 1994 when England triumphed by 208 runs, and since then West Indies' proud record at the Kensington Oval has deteriorated. Of their last 14 Tests at the venue, they have lost six, won five and drawn three.

India's recent victory against Pakistan in Delhi extended their winning streak at the Feroz Shah Kotla to seven. Most of those victories were set up by Anil Kumble, who has played six of those games and taken 55 wickets at 15.41 each. However, before they beat Zimbabwe in the one-off Test in 1993, India's record in Delhi was poor; they had lost five of their previous 11 Tests and won none.