The money should be on India. They haven't drawn, let alone lost, a Test at Delhi in 14 years and Zimbabwe haven't drawn, let alone won, any of their last four Tests. The two teams lie at eighth and ninth place in ICC's Test Championship table, but sometimes, as Australia have shown, the gulf within a bracket can be larger than you think. India have no real worries. Sanjay Bangar's two-paced century from No. 7 – as well as a promising spell of swing bowling on the opening day – means that their XI has a nice balance about it. But they should go a step further and promote Bangar to open the batting.

It should be clear by now that Deep Dasgupta does not belong in Test cricket as a wicketkeeper. Even John Wright, hardly one to point fingers, has admitted as much. Bangar opens the batting in domestic cricket, where he is as prolific as Dasgupta, possibly more so. This should be used as an opportunity to see if he can do the job in Tests. It's not likely to happen, though, which means Dasgupta will have a chance to stake a claim as specialist opener in the future even if his keeping remains the way it is.

Another change in the batting is on the cards. After a copping an earful from the media for leaving out Virender Sehwag at Nagpur, the selectors, who have been picking the playing XI too, will probably now drop VVS Laxman. Laxman needed to score at least 50 at Nagpur to keep his place, but he made 13 - only Zaheer Khan managed fewer in the Indian innings.

The Ferozshah Kotla pitch should suit Anil Kumble very well. He took ten wickets in an innings here against Pakistan in 1998-99, and nine in the match against Australia in 1996-97 on a surface that, the CBI claimed in their report on match-fixing, was doctored by the groundsman at the behest of a chap called MK. As it is, Jagmohan Dalmiya informed the media yesterday that India couldn't realistically be expected to produce strips like the one at the WACA, so the Kotla should be typically Kotla.

But a turning track should excite Raymond Price too. He was consistently good at Nagpur, and his arm ball brought a twinkle to Bishan Bedi's eyes. Price could use more support, though. Heath Streak, who has been conducting a sponsored coaching clinic in between the Tests, would do well to use some of his own advice. He was far more incisive when Zimbabwe toured here 15 months ago.

The biggest worry for Zimbabwe remains Andy Flower's form. At Nagpur, he was defeated by a blazing yorker from Zaheer in the first innings, and a rearing Kumble special in the second - but everyone knows that Flower has it to survive the very best of deliveries. He could be the difference between a loss and a draw, and who knows, even a win.

Teams
India (probable)1 SS Das, 2 Deep Dasgupta (wk), 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Virender Sehwag, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Javagal Srinath, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Stuart Carlisle (capt), 2 Trevor Gripper, 3 Alistair Campbell, 4 Gavin Rennie, 5 Andy Flower, 6 Grant Flower, 7 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 8 Heath Streak, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Brighton Watambwa.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd