Ready for the real thing

Since the Indian team last played a Test match in April this year, they've been involved in 16 one-dayers and five T20 internationals. Add to that tally the 59-match Indian Premier League and the inaugural Champions League, and it's been quite a hectic six months of the game's shorter versions.

The change of pace at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad is noticeable as it is welcome. In the nets, the batsmen are looking to leave the ball rather than swing at it, the fast bowlers are bending their backs instead of concentrating on 'bowling in the right areas', while the three spinners are creating mesmerising arcs in the air, not pinging them in flat and straight. Inevitably though, to cap a week-long celebration of a party that's lasted two decades, all the focus on the eve of the match is on one man.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir go into bat first, one punching crisply, the other dead-batting deliveries on to his toes. Then it's Rahul Dravid's turn, eyes scrunched up to keep the glare of the Ahmedabad sun out (and partly, one suspects, out of habit). VVS Laxman ambles into the adjoining net, languid to the point of lethargy unless of course you're watching his wrists, working overtime as always. Yuvraj Singh brings out the booming drives, both along the ground and in the air and, as usual, sparks intermittent roars of 'watchit'. Each of India's batting top six demand attention, but on this day, everything they do seems incidental.

For Sachin Tendulkar is out there as well; stretching, jogging, laughing, driving, generally working his charm without ever trying. There are more eyes on him than usual, including wife Anjali's, who makes an appearance that has the television cameras panning uncertainly from left to right and back ? to catch a smile from the first lady of Indian cricket or a straight drive off the master's blade?

Tendulkar has made something of a habit of celebrating big occasions with fitting knocks. He went past Brian Lara's Test-match run-record during a match-winning innings of 88 in Mohali last year. More recently, and more memorably, he went past 17,000 one-day runs during an incredible 175. How will he celebrate the start of his third decade in international cricket?

Meanwhile, one thing this Test series is almost assured of is an explosive start to proceedings, for either one of Virender Sehwag or Tillakaratne Dilshan will be walking out to bat on Monday morning.

The explosive opener may not be unique in the modern game, but there's something about the way these two go about their business that makes the viewing irresistible. Bad balls are put away with requisite disdain, but even the good ones are met with fiery slashes. Swing, for them, relates to bat-speed only and the slips are in place to upper-cut over.

The pitch at the Motera should suit them just fine, with both captains agreeing that it should ease into a batsman's dream once the new ball loses its shine. "They had watered it last evening but that's not an issue," Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference. "It will dry up and it will be a perfect track to bat on initially."

That's an assessment Dilshan agrees with as well, to the extent that he credits most of his success at the top of the order to the belters laid out even for most Test matches these days. "Earlier, Test pitches used to have a lot of movement and bounce early on and openers then had to bat accordingly. These days the bounce is a lot more even and it's easier to be aggressive," he stated.

Do he and Sehwag, team mates at Delhi Daredevils, have a mini-contest going on? "No no, not really," he smiles. Either way, there's a bit more at stake here than just bragging rights. Playing their 430th Test match, India are chasing their 100th victory, while the Lankans desperately want their first win on Indian soil in 14 attempts.

And, as always, there's the No 1 Test spot on ICC's ever-changing rankings up for grabs.