World Cup: India's English exam

India are all set to play their first big match of the tournament — against England at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore — but my heart goes out to the people of Kolkata.

After all, Sunday’s blockbuster was supposed to be played in front of them! I must say that Eden Gardens is the most electrifying cricketing venue in India, if not the world. It is difficult to believe that Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co won’t be playing at the historic venue.

Well, it’s now time to focus on the big game. During the course of the match, India will realise where they really stand. The encounter against Bangladesh was over-hyped and, as expected, India cruised to a win. England are no pushovers and have a fairly good record at World Cups. In fact, they have beaten us on three occasions — 1975, 1987 and 1992 — at the quadrennial event. India have also tasted victory thrice (1983, 1999 and 2007).

The 1987 World Cup was a tournament where England played really well. Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting chose to take the attack route against spinners and emerged successful. In the semifinal, Gooch’s hundred took the game away from us. He came in with a plan and it worked. The dry wicket at Wankhede was ideal for spinners, but Gooch proved why he’s a good batsman.

If that England team had Gooch and Gatting, the current side has Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen. While the former has led the boys admirably, the latter is the team’s biggest match-winner.

What’s more, both play spinners very well. Pietersen knows what to expect from the Chinnaswamy Stadium wicket and his experience with the Royal Challengers Bangalore will surely help him and England. I am also looking forward Pietersen’s contest with Harbhajan Singh

Also, England have a very good bowling attack. James Anderson is one of the best pacers around and the overcast conditions in the Garden City will surely excite him. Offie Graeme Swann and left-arm spinner Michael Yardy will also come into play.

But there’s one man who can destroy England and that’s Virender Sehwag. The longer he bats, the better it is for India. The match will also help India tackle the challenges that lie ahead. I am sure the top order will be looking to bat together. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have batted together in a long time — no wonder the openers were involved in a mix-up in Dhaka — and they would like to get into the groove right away.

I wonder what’s wrong with Ashish Nehra. The left-arm pacer does not play Test matches or any of Delhi’s domestic games. He features in ODIs and IPL matches. Basically, he doesn’t play too much cricket but still finds himself injured every now and then. Now this is nothing but alarming. The BCCI, the selection committee and the team management must have taken Nehra’s fragile body into account before picking the team. Come to think of it, we are going in with a weakened attack in a crucial World Cup tie.

I’d like to believe that the ticket fracas in Bangalore has been solved. Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, the men at the helm of affairs at KSCA, were two of the biggest fighters on the field and I hope they will fight it out this time too. I wish them — and, of course, India —  all the best.

The writer is a former India wicketkeeper
and chairman of selectors