AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters)
Nasser Hussain goes into the second Test against India with a brave face but few answers as England bid to rescue the three-match series.

His side will need a near-miracle after crashing to a 10-wicket defeat in the first Test on the one pitch likely to favour them during the tour. Hussain's side looked clueless against leg-spinner Anil Kumble and offbreak bowler Harbhajan Singh in Mohali last week as the pair harvested 15 of the 20 wickets to fall.

The Mohali debacle was played out on a seamer-friendly wicket. Ahmedabad, however, starting on Tuesday, will offer a barren, dusty pitch specifically designed for spin.

England failed to reach 250 runs in either innings in the first game and look on course for a repeat of the 3-0 whitewash on their last Indian tour eight years ago.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was already talking about a sweep as he met reporters on Monday.

"It's a good hard wicket with a bit of grass covering. It will probably turn as the game progresses," he said, adding that a 3-0 scoreline would help erase his team's hugely disappointing tour of South Africa last month.

Both India's bowling and batting, to make matters worse for Hussain, will be strengthened in Ahmedabad. Pace spearhead Javagal Srinath returns after missing the first game with a broken finger. India have also recalled batsman 23-year-old Virender Sehwag, who sat out the Mohali Test to serve a one-Test ban served on him in South Africa.

Ganguly's only worry, indeed, centres on his own batting. He has failed to score a century since the third and final Test in Ahmedabad against New Zealand late in 1999. Since taking over as captain 13 tests ago, Ganguly has recorded just three fifties, against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, and was in great discomfort against the rising ball in the home series against Australia and in South Africa.

England skipper Hussain, in contrast, looked in good form in top-scoring with 85 in Mohali but opener Marcus Trescothick and fellow left-hander Graham Thorpe were the only others to manage fifties.

The touring side's bowling is as great a worry, so much so that England look set to gamble on left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, who has been struggling for fitness after Achilles tendon surgery. The 28-year-old Warwickshire bowler last played a Test five months ago.

He is desperately needed, however, to give support to 21-year-old Richard Dawson, who impressed on his debut with a four-wicket haul.

Teams
India Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Shiv Sundar Das, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (capt), VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Tinu Yohannan. 12th man: Connor Williams.

England (possible) Nasser Hussain (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan, Mark Ramprakash, Craig White, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Matthew Hoggard, Ashley Giles, Richard Dawson.

Umpires A V Jayaprakash (India) and Ian Robinson (Zimbabwe).

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd