Contrary to popular thinking, I believe India and England are pretty evenly-matched sides going into the first one-day international at Calcutta. England surprised many with their spirit in the Test series and they will be encouraged by the fact that India no longer enjoy the unbeaten home run that they used to and are also not in the best of form.

India are fortunate that they commence the series at Eden Gardens, where the crowd factor plays a major role in the outcome of the match. England's inexperience will be to their disadvantage. It can be very, very unnerving playing at Eden and the tide of home support can turn the legs of visiting players into jelly.

Sourav Ganguly's continuing poor form is a matter of serious concern. He is such a good one-day player that his failure in the Challenger series comes as a real shock. Hopefully, it will not adversely affect his captaincy and the morale of the team.

The emergence of Virender Sehwag as a quality player will relieve the burden on Sachin Tendulkar, who has had to play both anchor and aggressor. I have a very high regard for Sehwag's ability and it's the first time we will see him as an established and confident player in one-day internationals at home. The crowds will be rooting for him in a big way.

The Indian attack looks weak. Javagal Srinath has never been a great one-day bowler; Zaheer Khan, despite bowling well in the Challenger matches, may be unsure about himself coming back into the team, while Harbhajan Singh's form is far from encouraging. That leaves India with just the hugely-experienced Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar to rely on. I feel Agarkar will have an important role to play with the ball. He makes things happen in one-dayers and the Englishmen, not having seen enough of him, could be in for some unpleasant surprises.

The return of Andy Caddick and Darren Gough gives them some ammunition, though much will depend on how quickly they adjust to Indian conditions, grounds and the atmosphere. Ditto for Nick Knight, another experienced player.

Calcutta is witnessing cold and hazy mornings, but with the game being a day-nighter, the toss may not have much of a bearing on the game. India will have to weigh the options between taking first strike on a good batting strip and bowling second when the heavy dew will render gripping the ball difficult for the spinners. India may be better off chasing as England are the kind of team that can keep things moving, even when facing a big total.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to H. Natarajan

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