India's significant wins at home and abroad have been constructed around Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly’s contributions. With the opening Test just hours away, it is no exaggeration to suggest that India's fate in the match and the series will be directly dependent on the Fab Four's performance.
Dravid and Ganguly had together begun their journey in top-flight cricket at this very 11 years ago. With this most likely to be their last trip to England, the duo will definitely like to start on a blazing note here.
Sense of history
Bangalorean Dravid, blessed with a wonderful sense of history and occasion, has yet to make a hundred in the most famous cricket venue in the world, and he will want to correct that record. The closest he came to scoring a hundred here was on debut in 1996, when he made 95. Tendulkar has an array of batting records against his name, but the Mumbaikar is also yet to score a Test century here, and this will be his last chance to amend that anomaly.
Big knocks from them are essential from a team's point of view as well. The absence of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff has certainly reduced the firepower of the English attack, but they still have a potent combination in conditions where the red cherry will swing quite a bit.
Dravid and Tendulkar are the best equipped in this line-up to nullify that threat and they will perforce have to come up with special efforts if India are to make the best possible start to the series.
VVS Laxman, who so far has scored only 314 runs from eight Tests at 34.88, will be eager to set that record right, and skipper Dravid has backed him to have a big tour, assuring his place in the final eleven ahead of Yuvraj Singh. On a personal front, Laxman needs another 122 runs to complete 5000 in Test cricket, and a big hundred at Lord's will be an ideal way to achieve the milestone. The outcome of the battle of this experienced line-up with the English bowlers will have a major say in the final destination of the match.
The only worry for the Indians is the form of Wasim Jaffer. The Mumbaikar, who has scored two hundreds in his last three Tests, has so far struggled in English conditions and it is mandatory that the elegant right-hander finds his rhythm as soon as possible.
Onus on Kumble
On the bowling front, Kumble will have to conjure some of his old magic as it will play a significant role on wicket that might assist spinners a bit on the last couple of days. Definitely on his last tour to England, where he made his debut nearly 17 years ago, the veteran leg-spinner will be hoping for a right start that will keep him ready for the series. That spinning factor will also keep England's left-arm spinner Monty Panesar interested.
Youngsters S Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh, most likely the third seamer ahead of Ranadeb Bose and Ishant Sharma, too have the huge responsibility of supporting the experienced Zaheer Khan and Kumble.
Sreesanth's performance will be keenly watched as the team management has placed great faith in the Kerala bowler. His ability to swing the ball -- both new and old -- at considerable pace will come in handy not just in this Test, but in the subsequent matches as well.
Pietersen threat
RP Singh too has an important part to play. The Uttar Pradesh left-arm pacer can procure disconcerting bounce from any pitch and that can be a useful tool against Kevin Pietersen. The aggressive batsman, who is expected to pose a tough challenge for the Indians, has the tendency to pull from outside off, and if RP Singh can deceive him with extra bounce from his natural angle, India can see off the Pietersen threat early on.
Neither side begins overwhelming favourite, and that only adds to the charm.
Teams (from):
India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, RP Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kaarthick, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Powar, S Sreesanth, Wasim Jaffer, Yuvraj Singh, Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma.
England: Michael Vaughan (capt), James Andersen, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alistair Cook, Monty Panesar, Matthew Hoggard, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior, Ryan Sidebottom, Chris Tremelett.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Simon Taufel (Australia). Third umpire: Gunner Gold. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).