Players to watch

For Inzamam, batting has never been as precise a skill as it has been in the last year. Almost every time he has moped to the crease, he has begun intent and finished with aplomb. More often Pakistan have been in crisis and occasionally in a position of strength, but Inzamam has always produced. This winter - or summer - world cricket has witnessed Inzamam and Ricky Ponting, two batting captains at their absolute peak. And here too Inzamam will be expected to score; his captaincy leans so heavily on his form that his runs are doubly crucial. A good time to face Anil Kumble, whose low-trajectoried legbreaks have harassed Inzamam traditionally.

Back in the business of fast bowling and how. Although his recent record prior to the series against England was impressive anyway, with 17 wickets in three Tests, over a hundred overs and stellar batting rearguards, he became literally a new man. A bit like his slower ball; he's always had a good one but against England, with added flight and dip, it became a superb one. Although he stamped his presence internationally with two deliveries against India at Eden Gardens, spiritually they have become almost a bogey team for him now, after his infamous absence last year and notorious underperformance two years ago. If he can sustain the hostility, then some of his spells to the likes of Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman promise great things.

After his success this past year and his performances in India last year, he has a reputation to uphold rather than establish and that may be one of the more significant challenges. Against England and the West Indies he won matches with swift wickets and he can be thanked, in the age of Warne and Kumble, for making the googly fashionable again. The Indians adjusted to him well last year but never really nullified him and for batsmen used to toying with leggies, it would have grated. Might not be burdened as much this time as he was in the last series but his contributions will be equally as crucial.

Completely in keeping with his demeanour, his Test performances against England in the last series were among the most promising and simultaneously among the least celebrated developments. He had said before the series that the imbalance in his ODI and Test performances was a mental rather than skill-based aberration and he finally overcame it, with some help from four-day county cricket. What India saw in the ODI series in India, they might now see in the Tests here. He has become, in two Tests, an exciting and remarkable foil to Shoaib; he experiments, he swings the ball, has bustling pace and various changes of it, he bowls for hours. Additionally, his Duracell-fuelled energy with bat or in the field is a sizeable bonus. An eye, a diligent one, will have to be kept on him.

Sachin Tendulkar: The only player in the side to tour Pakistan thrice © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid
When Dravid has scored big, which has been with monotonous regularity over the past five seasons, India have rarely ever lost. When those lofty standards have dropped, as against Australia last season, India have subsided to defeat. Sehwag may be more flamboyant and Tendulkar more celebrated but, more often than not, it's been Dravid's obduracy and sheer bloody-mindedness that has thwarted the opposition. Once defensive and dour, he can now also change gears effortlessly and with cynics pointing to an average of 22 from six Tests as captain, you can be sure that he's whipping up the eggs to smear on their faces.

Record against Pakistan: 9 Tests, 804 runs at 53.6, 3x100, 2x50

Until he stuttered in Zimbabwe - and he can rarely be bothered with minnow-bashing - and at home against Sri Lanka, Sehwag had legitimate claims to being the world's most destructive and effective opening bat. Striking the ball as powerfully as Matthew Hayden in his pomp, Sehwag mined a rich vein of form that included glorious centuries against Australia and Pakistan - 309 at Multan and 203 at Bangalore being the pick of the bunch. He hasn't really struggled of late, but has kept frittering away starts, which could be absolutely fatal to India's chances if repeated in this series.

Record against Pakistan: 6 Tests, 982 runs at 98.2, 3x100, 2x50

By relentlessly pushing himself in search of slow-bowling perfection at an age when most think of the comforts of the commentary box, he has been the subcontinent's answer to Shane Warne - without the nurses and the lewd texts. The last tour of Pakistan was part of an incredible renaissance that included matchwinning displays at Adelaide, Multan and Chennai and while accuracy and persistence remain his calling cards, there is also an enhanced repertoire to worry about. Factor in a matchless attitude, and you know why he remains so dangerous even when the ball's not turning his way.

Record against Pakistan: 9 Tests, 54 wickets at 27.48, Four 5-wicket hauls.

It would be tempting to cite the burgeoning allround talent of Irfan Pathan, but his figures against Pakistan (18 wickets at 41.77, and 128 runs at 18.28) don't really inspire confidence. Even in Tendulkar's case, the numbers - 855 runs at 42.75 - are far less formidable than against most opposition, largely the result of the four Tests he played without much success as a kid in 1989. But when was the last time India went through a major series without Tendulkar making some inimitable imprint on proceedings? And when you keep him quiet with the bat, he may just sting you with his spin variations, as Moin Khan discovered to his horror at Multan on the last tour.

Record against Pakistan: 13 Tests, 855 runs at 42.75, 2x100, 5x50