Key battles

Shoaib Akhtar v Virender Sehwag
The last time the two met in a Test series, there was little doubt who came out on top. With both teams straining to strike the early blow, Sehwag delivered a statement as emphatic as they come, with his triple-century. Of those 309 runs, 62 came off Shoaib, from 77 balls; in the entire series, Sehwag scored 124 runs off Shoaib at an average of 62. As the table below shows, Shoaib failed to make an impression on most of the Indian batsmen. However, now apparently in the form of his life, this could well be the chance for him to settle old scores.

In his last seven Tests, Shoaib has nailed 36 wickets at 25.75, suggesting that he has finally learnt to match performance with pre-match bluster. More than just those stats, though, it's the manner in which he has applied himself that has been so impressive - the 118 overs he bowled against England was the first time he bowled more than 100 overs in a series, while with the bat he was resoluteness personified. Sehwag, meanwhile, is struggling for form, with just one half-century in his last eight Test innings, and two in his last 25 ODIs. This might well be Shoaib's best opportunity to even accounts.

Irfan Pathan versus Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf's tendency to waft into his lazy drives outside off was exploited superbly by Irfan Pathan in the previous series in Pakistan: after keeping him quiet with well-directed balls swinging back in, Pathan often delivered the sucker ball, wide of off, and drew an indiscrete stroke. In 119 balls, Pathan conceded just 35 and dismissed Yousuf twice. However, Yousuf learned from his mistakes and handled Pathan much better on the tour to India, scoring 42 off 64 for once out. Yousuf is coming off an excellent series against England, and unlike in 2003-04, he will know what to expect from Pathan. However, in his short career Pathan has shown an inclination to learn new tricks and experiment, and you can be sure he'll have a few ideas to deal with Yousuf this time around as well.

Inzamam-ul-Haq versus Anil Kumble
After the initial opening acts from both teams, this pair could be at the forefront of their teams' fortunes - Inzamam has been in the form of his life this season, playing with an assurance that has made him an immovable object, while Kumble has shown remarkable improvement - at least in Test cricket - with age, adding more weapons to his armoury. Inzamam's tendency to shuffle across his stumps is a flaw Kumble has exploited more than once. In fact, no bowler has nailed Inzamam more than Kumble (seven times), but it has hardly been one-way traffic: in the last two series, Inzamam has fallen to Kumble four times, but has also scored 188 runs off him for a handy average of 47. In fact, Pakistan's top batsmen have a reasonably good record against Kumble over the last two series.

Rahul Dravid versus Danish Kaneria
One can bat seemingly interminably, the other loves to wheel away at the batsmen, over after over, with relentless accuracy. While Shoaib may be the prime strike bowler for Pakistan, Kaneria, with his ability to bowl wicket-taking deliveries and keep it tight, will play a critical role. He proved just how lethal he could be in that matchwinning effort at Bangalore last year, and the Indians, despite their impressive overall record against him, will do well to be wary.

If Kaneria is Pakistan's Duracell with the ball, then Dravid will be expected to play a similar role with the bat for India. As the table below shows, Dravid has played 411 deliveries from Kaneria in the last two series - how many more he adds to that number could provide an indication of India's batting fortunes in the series.

While the results of these battles could determine which way the series goes, Pakistan will also want a much better performance from their fast bowlers, especially since they've announced that they're putting their faith in pace. The table below shows just how badly Pakistan were let down by their fast bowlers in their last two series - their spinners gave away nearly 23 fewer runs per wicket, while the relatively less renowned Indian pace attack comfortably outdid them too.

The key culprit for Pakistan was Mohammad Sami, who, apart from the odd testing spell, did precious little, taking 17 wickets at 54.60. His stats against the Indian top order indicates just how ineffective he was. Shoaib may be in top form, but he will still want better support from the rest of the cast.