Fitness worries and weather take centrestage

After the attritional cricket in Bangalore, where one team dominated much of the contest and the other refused to give in, Mohali - where the pitch isn't as slow as Bangalore - holds the prospect of a more lively encounter. Both teams will, however, need to rework their plans of attack to land the first punch in the series.

The challenge for Australia will be not only to get into a commanding position against India, like they did in Bangalore, but also to close out the match, which they failed to do in the first Test. All of their batsmen, however, with the exceptions of Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke, made runs: Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey scored maiden Test centuries in India, while Shane Watson and Brad Haddin allayed concerns about an untested lower-middle order. Their fast bowlers, Mitchell Johnson and Watson in particular, showed that inexperience in Indian conditions was not a hurdle that couldn't be cleared.

Although India's batsmen played out the fifth day to secure a draw in Bangalore, the match was really saved on the third evening because of plucky batting from Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Their batting, however, isn't a major worry since most batsmen made contributions at some stage of the Test. India's biggest problem is the fitness of their captain Anil Kumble. He had a poor match in Bangalore, where he bowled 51 overs without a wicket, and struggled with a shoulder injury. He bowled during an indoor net session on Thursday but will decide on his participation in the Test only on the morning of the match.

The build-up to the first Test in Bangalore was unusually quiet. By the end of the match, however, tensions were simmering: Zaheer said the Australians were defensive; Ponting brushed aside the comments; and Kumble was writing indignant columns in response to media speculation about his future. Normal service, it seems, has been resumed.

India's attack best in a long time

Did the speedometer slip the quality checks? Sounds a little bitter but that was the joke during the India-Australia One-Day series. Many eyes turned beady when Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth clocked the high 140s constantly, the former nudging the pace meter up to 148 kph.

It has had Aaqib Javed, India's nemesis at Sharjah in the '91 finals, gushing over in praise.

"Of all the Indian attacks I have seen in the past, the present lot comes across as supremely skilled. I would go to the extent of saying that this attack is the best they have had in a long time," beams one of Pakistan's greatest exponents of swing bowling.

Not too long ago, he had suggested that India's new-ball bowlers would be better off eating meat. For now, Singh and Sreesanth seem to have altered his views.

What is more, he expects India to prepare seaming tracks for the razor-toothed series against Pakistan. We remind that Pakistan's bowling arsenal too looks piping hot, not to forget that Shoaib Akhtar is likely to be drafted in.

In this regard he says, "Both the teams have strong batting line-ups. From the look of it, India seem to be a better bowling unit this time. Sreesanth can mix high-velocity with movement, while RP and Khan (Zaheer) are different bowlers. Then you have variety in spin bowling in the shape of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. This should be one heck of a series."

He holds that it is the system that breeds fast bowlers and India, finally, seems to be embracing a different culture.

"India always had a flat-wicket mindset to minister to their spinners. It was quite evident in the country's domestic cricket. Somewhere down the line it had to change."

Furthermore he says, "Fast bowling is not only about pace. I remember Javagal Srinath was express. When in full rhythm, he too could hit the 145-150 mark. However, like RP Singh and S Sreesanth, he wasn't aggressive mentally."

Fast bowlers, he believes, should be nurtured at an impressionable age. He insists that Pakistan never invest on peace brokers who just turn up and roll their arm over. "It is not in our style," Aaqib says, "we goad our boys to run in hard, bowl with passion. Umar Gul and Sohail Tanveer are products of such a culture."

Aaqib finds it refreshing that the Indian cricket is drawing from a fresh pool of talent; he feels they are ready to take the country's cricket forward once the old guards stow away their kits.

Finally, how would he assess the captains (MS Dhoni and Shoaib Malik) from their brief stints in the job?

After a long pause he remarks, "Although both Dhoni and Malik have displayed commendable temperament, I have noticed that Dhoni has handled the high-pressure situations extremely well. It is not for nothing that India are the Twenty20 World Champions."

Injured Kumble may miss out rest of series

Indian captain Anil Kumble is not likely to bowl during Australia's second innings as he is suffering from a shoulder injury. He will probably miss the second Test starting from October 17 in Mohali. In fact there is a slim chance that he might be ruled out of the rest of the series.

Kumble, who usually bats at No. 8, dropped himself down the order to No. 10 after taking painkilling injections on Saturday, but didn't take the field when India came out to bowl.

Kumble had to take painkilling injections on Saturday night after he complained of pain in his shoulder. With Kumble approaching the end of his career this injury may just be another dampener. On what is a turning track, this injury could affect India badly as it may leave them with just one specialist spinner, Harbhajan Singh.

India's new Test captain relishes challenge

Seasoned spinner Anil Kumble was named India's Test captain on Thursday as the selectors opted to give Mahendra Singh Dhoni more experience of the five-day game.

Kumble, 37, was chosen to lead for three Test matches against Pakistan starting later this month at the conclusion of the current one-day series, Indian cricket board official Mohinder Pandove said.

"Kumble has been named only for the Pakistan series," Pandove told reporters in a brief statement.

Dhoni, 26, who took over as one-day and Twenty20 captain in September, was considered the frontrunner for the Test role after senior pro Sachin Tendulkar turned down an offer from the selectors.

But the five-man selection committee, headed by former captain Dilip Vengsarkar, felt Dhoni's 20 Tests in two years left the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman too raw to assume the mantle.

Kumble, a veteran of 118 Tests, succeeds his Karnataka team mate Rahul Dravid, who unexpectedly resigned as captain after the England tour in September for unspecified reasons.

The leg-spinner is India's most successful bowler and his 566 Test wickets are bettered only by Australia's Shane Warne (708) and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan (702).