India enter the fifth one-day international against England in Delhi leading the series 3-1; it could, however, have easily been the other way around. If umpire SK Sharma had not made that awful lbw decision against Marcus Trescothick in Kolkata, and if the two first-ball appeals against Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag had been upheld – as they should have been – in Kanpur, the scoreline might well have been reversed. Tendulkar and Sehwag's romp to victory in Kanpur might have made it seem that England have been outclassed in this series. Well, no. Not so far, and not in the two matches left either, going by the way Nasser Hussain's team has been playing.

India, thus, can hardly afford to be complacent; a 3-3 result in the series will be a huge moral victory for England, who were expected to be whitewashed. There's still a lot at stake for India here; especially for their beleaguered captain, Sourav Ganguly, whose stint as captain might well be winding down.

There are, thus, two possible approaches India could take into this match, at dire contrast with each other. One could be an experimental long-term one, based on the logic that with the series already safe, they should have an eye on the forthcoming World Cup, and experiment with different combinations of players in different roles, to find out which mix works best. The other takes a pragmatic short-term view; the series is still alive, England are quite capable of pulling it back, and India should just focus on playing their best possible team, and not take any chances. With Ganguly's captaincy being the focus of so much negative attention, the second line of thinking seems likely to prevail.

The reserves in the team are, thus, not likely to get a look in. A pity, because Sarandeep Singh was outstanding in the Challenger Trophy matches that preceded this series, and the Ferozshah Kotla is his home ground. But Ganguly is hardly likely to rest Harbhajan Singh now. Sanjay Bangar must also consider himself unlucky; he played just the one game, and certainly deserves a longer trial. Once Rahul Dravid is fit again and a suitably chastised VVS Laxman is re-admitted into the squad, Bangar is likely to get the boot. Pity: he is a much better bowler than most of India's No. 6s in the last couple of years (Robin Singh, RS Sodhi) and is always a good bet for 10 tight, wicket-to-wicket overs.

Who will walk out to open with Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday? Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar average 120 as an opening partnership – off just two games, admittedly – and Ganguly might be hard pressed not to fix something that ain't broken. By the same reckoning, of course, he ain't broken either – his 42 off 58 balls in Kolkata showed him in good nick. But with the media crucifying him at every opportunity, he is unlikely to give them more opportunities to get at him, as they surely will if he opens and fails.

If the World Cup was first priority, India would have been well-advised to send in Mohammad Kaif at No. 3. A run-gatherer in the Dravid mould, he is wasted down the order. Ganguly is unlikely to risk that, though, and Kaif might also – like Bangar - be discarded without a fair trial when Dravid and Laxman return.

The pitch at the Kotla, where the match is being played, is unlikely to help the bowlers much, except in the first hour or so, when the dew might assist the seamers. As the day progresses, the bounce will get lower and the ball will come on slower; conditions India are quite used to, as Sehwag and Tendulkar demonstrated at Kanpur. As for the bowlers, men of the pace of Paul Collingwood and Ben Hollioake will find this pitch ideal for their brand of gentle medium-pace bowling. And Ganguly also, of course, in the role that might well save his flagging career: of an allrounder who can get 10 good overs in.

India (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 4 Dinesh Mongia, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Hemang Badani, 7 Ajay Ratra (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Javagal Srinath.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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