“The hype is obviously about the pitch, about what India will get to play on. The groundsman has spoken about a green pitch but till a ball is bowled, you can never say what the track will be like exactly. There is also word that India will play five fast bowlers but they will have to be very careful because spin will be useful in a five-day game and variation is also important in a longer format,” wrote Ganguly, who led India to the final of the 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa.

“R Ashwin’s effectiveness with the bat should not also be discounted. The Indian bowlers have been in superb form this series. They have picked 20 wickets in both the Tests and it is important for the batters to stand up and put runs on the board. There is enormous talent in this batting unit, they have done it before and I find no reason why they can’t do it again. They will need to believe in themselves, need to fight for every run as a batting unit. The question for India will be whether to play five bowlers or four. If the pitch remains green till the start then they can go in with four bowlers and should pick that extra batter. If not, they must continue with the five bowlers.”