The Bourda Oval at Guyana, possibly the most picturesque ground in the West Indies, is looking as pretty as it usually does ahead of the first Test between India and the West Indies due to start on Thursday. The outfield, which resembles a billiard top, assures value for money to any shot-maker.

But it is as you walk further down the ground to gaze at the vital 22 yards of strip that doubts begin to surface. The pitch, which was one of the best batting surfaces in the Caribbean, has now degenerated into an unpredictable surface. If knowledgeable observers are to believed, variable bounce will come increasingly into play as the match progresses.

It could, however, prove a boon in disguise for Sourav Ganguly and his side, who are hoping to win a series in the Caribbean for only the second time in their country's cricketing history. For, Anil Kumble, who has proved to be their biggest match-winner in recent times, is at his most destructive in such conditions.

Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, if he recovers in time, will be expected to play a vital role in ensuring that the Indian campaign gets off to a happy start. The duo have already struck form, claiming 12 wickets in their team's victorious tour opener against the Guyana Board President's XI. If they bowl at anywhere near their best, they might succeed in running through a West Indies line-up that has very few established players in its ranks.

India, though, are not wholly dependent on their spin twins. With Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra and Tinu Yohannan also in the squad, they have the enough firepower in their fast bowling arsenal too. With the bowling looking relatively healthy, it is the batting that is suddenly looking suspect.

The batsmen, despite their much-touted abilities, have failed to pull their collective weight during away tours. Even the lowly Zimbabwe, led by unheralded medium-pacer Andy Blignaut, managed to drive holes in the much-feted line-up at Harare in one of India's recent away tours.

Disturbingly, then, most of the willow-wielders struggled against a weak Guyana Board President's XI attack in the tour opener. Coach John Wright has probably taken the first step in addressing the problem by voicing it.

"We have the potential to beat any side in the world. What we require is self-belief that we are capable of winning away from home. It's a very important factor," he said, adding, "We have quite a few brilliant players but have yet to click as a team. What we need is a collective effort."

Evidence of new-found self-belief was found recently when Shiv Sunder Das, the stocky Indian opener, professed the desire to score big hundreds in the Caribbean, thereby following in the footsteps of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. If Das and the middle-order, consisting of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly among others, manage to support the ever-consistent Sachin Tendulkar, the tourists might manage to draw first blood in Guyana itself, fair weather permitting.

Usually the rain almost unfailingly makes an appearance, and the possibility of it doing so again cannot be ruled out. Another adversary as far as the Indians would be concerned will be a fully fit Brian Lara.

The West Indian master, who seemed to have regained his best form in the recent series against Sri Lanka, has recovered from his elbow injury and would, for his part, be hoping to lead his team to an upset win over the Indians. Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored tons of runs against the Indians in the previous series between the two sides, are also capable of leading the home team's batting.

As for the West Indies bowling, Hooper has decided to place his reliance on his pace bowlers. "Since we don't have world-class spinners like India have in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, we'll go for pace. India have very good batsmen in Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly, but most of their guys are making their first trip to the West Indies. We'd like to take advantage of that," the West Indies captain said in a recent interview to a private television channel.

Talking to ahead of newspersons of the match, he showed every sign of sticking to his plan, saying, "It's not easy to replace Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, but we will be relying (on) Merv Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Marlon Black and Adam Sanford to deliver the goods." The last named is rated highly by fast bowling great Colin Croft, who feels that Sanford may be the surprise packet.

All said, the stage is set for a battle of attrition between the two sides. Both teams will be eager to gain the early advantage - West Indies to revive the flagging morale of their side, and India to assert the supremacy that is already theirs on paper. With fans of both sides expected, for 42 percent of Guyana's population is of Indian descent, to troop out to the ground, the least that can be promised is a carnival start to the series.

Squads:

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Deep Dasgupta, Shiv Sundar Das, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Mongia, Ajay Ratra, Sanjay Bangar, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Tinu Yohannan, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Stuart Williams, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Junior Murray, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Marlon Black, Adam Stanford, Mahendra Nagamootoo

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