There may be a certain psychological factor spooking Pakistan tomorrow when facing their nemesis at this ground in the form of new Indian captain Anil Kumble.

At age 37,  Kumble's most cherished dream has come true as he gets  his first opportunity to captain India.

Pakistan, at the other end of the spectrum, is led by young Shoaib Malik, who has come under fire for inept leadership and a losing record since he was swept into captaincy after the forced exit of Inzamam-ul-Haq, followed by Younis Khan declining to take over the reins. His team must try to set aside concerns about the turmoil back home, and focus on the cricket.

Some of India's best players will not play in the first Test.

Brilliant Yuvraj Singh has paid the price for an indifferent Test record by being left out of the side, while premiere fast bowlers Sreesanth and RP Singh have been sidelined due to injury. Back-in-form Irfan Pathan has not been considered, for reasons best known to the selectors.

Harbhajan Singh makes a comeback after a very good showing in the ODIs against Pakistan, and questionable quickie Munaf Patel gets a break due to unavailability of the preferred pacemen. He will partner Zaheer Khan in the new ball attack.

Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have been correctly preferred over Yuvraj in the middle order, which means that almost half the side can be classified as "senior" when you include Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, aside from captain Kumble.

Pakistan will rely on Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan for their consistency, and on Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria to chip away at the experienced batting lineup of the hosts. Shoaib has said, "We will leave no stone unturned to win the Test series and despite the fact that they have the world class trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid and a bowler like Anil Kumble, we will play to our potential."

Although the smart money will be on India prevailing quite easily, underdogs Pakistan will be keen to avenge the defeat in the ODI series. The Test will be fought well and followed earnestly. 

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