India look to their lucky-charm venue

He also hinted at another change from the squad that did duty in Bangalore: the inclusion of the sprightly Mohammad Kaif. ‘‘We are looking to give Kaif a go. He will bat in the middle order’’, the captain remarked.

Ganguly’s comments reflect the think-tank’s growing lack of confidence in the obdurate opener Aakash Chopra, who logged just five runs from two innings at Bangalore. It also gives the captain an opportunity to finally put into practice what he had been preaching for some time, open with Yuvraj.

With the latter too having shown his inclination, the Indians with a new, attacking opening pair could be aiming to unsettle the highly-effective Australian pace attack of Glenn McGrath & Co.

What Ganguly will be looking for most of all is a decent first innings total, despite the absence yet again of Sachin Tendulkar. ‘‘The boys realise that we need to put up runs on the board, especially in the first innings’’, he said. ‘‘You cannot expect to win Test matches otherwise. The team will miss Sachin, but it is up to the rest of the guys to stand up and perform. They have to stay positive and confident.’’

The Australians, meanwhile, aren’t resting on the Bangalore laurels. ‘‘The side is not the same without Sachin but I’m not discounting India from coming coming up with a fantastic performance’’, observed Adam Gilchrist this afternoon.

The visitors do know a thing or two about an Indian counter-attack and the Aussie skipper did not fail to impress on the fact that his team is fully geared for the onslaught. ‘‘The conditions here are demanding but we have played a lot here and are fully prepared for India’s counter’’, he said.

Gilchrist pointed out that the key to winning matches lay in raising a big first innings score, irrespective of who wins the toss. ‘‘You can’t allow a huge gap between you and your opposition. You cannot give up ground on your first innings.’’

An important lesson learnt, the Aussies are keen to slay the demons on the playing surface too. ‘‘There’s a lot of talk about the extra bounce in the wicket. It is obviously going to pose more of a threat for us. Harbhajan and Anil (Kumble) are spin bowlers who rely as much on bounce as on sideways movement. Hopefully it’ll have a positive effect for Warnie, and I feel without doubt that it’s a positive thing for our fast bowlers. We’re born and bred on bouncier tracks.’’

The Final Frontier may not be so unbreachable after all.