Birmingham: India's reputation of being fearsome fighters that has been steadily built over the last decade will undergo the sternest test over the next five days as they prepare to deny England what they would hope is their tryst with destiny.
England have long wanted to stake claim to the No. 1 Test rankings and the manner in which they have played their cricket off late has been not only competitive but truly inspirational. A win in the Edgbaston Test that is scheduled to start on Wednesday will not only give them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the four-match series but also assure them of the numero uno position in the ICC Test Championship rankings.
Sachin Tendulkar will be looking to bring up his 100th international ton in the Birmingham Test.
For India, the climb has not been an easy one and for a skipper and a team that won the Cricket World Cup barely four months ago, it won't be easy to digest that the slide from the top has started so soon.
Whether India were under-cooked going into the series, or whether they were injury-hit, or just plain simple jaded and tired, no amount of reasoning and logic will be able to apply a balm to Indian cricket if the team were to lose their third straight Test match and lose their two-year-long reign at the top
There's no Zaheer Khan and no Harbhajan and no Yuvraj, the much-vaunted Indian batting lineup has not even fired once, the bowling has depended on some lion-hearted performances that unfortunately has come in bits and pieces and England are firmly in the driver's seat. And even though the Test match marks the return of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the visitors face the tough task of not just winning the third Test and saving their rank, but also win back the millions of fans who have been crestfallen with the losses at the Lord's and at Trent Bridge.
Even the stats are against Team India. They have lost four of the five matches they have played at Edgbaston, while England have won 23 of their 45 Tests here. The only time India managed to draw a Test here was way back in 1986.
England are on a roll and everything has gone right for Andrew Strauss and his men. Which is probably why this is the best time to alter the script and show that famous Indian fightback spirit.
This Team India, built by three successive captains starting with Sourav Ganguly, is not one to give up a fight. Yes, they have embarrassed themselves in the first two games, but that's precisely why it's time to see them come back into their own and deliver a knock-out blow to England.
One doesn't need to go back very much back in time to remember a couple of such instance. During the 2007-08 tour to Australia, India lost the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches. What they then showed in Perth has become part of cricketing folklore as the visitors sent the Aussies packing within three days. Similar fight backs have also been seen in the tour to Sri Lanka and South Africa. And England will make a big mistake if they think that the third Test will be a walk in the park for them.
A noted cricket writer recently said that India had been "engulfed in delusionary self-congratulation" and that the two losses have been a harsh wake-up call for them. So while one should congratulate England for their outstanding performances, it's also a good time to warn them of the great Indian rope trick.
