Mahasangram
The ads are out, Inzy in battle gear charging at a resplendent Saurav. Do I detect shades of Mohommad Ghori vs Prithviraj Chauhan? Sigh!! I dont think Ghori was Paki by any stretch of imagination. And these are not missiles!!
The most awaited series of the year is about to begin. The goras may talk about the Ashes, and how England will beat the Aussies this time, or atleast stay competetive. But I have seen this hype before also, when Caddick, Gough and White were demolishing the Windies, the same cry was heard: "Bring on the Aussies", well what happened?, 3-1 was the result, only rain and Butcher preventing a clean sweep. As long as McGrath, Gilly, Warne are playing together , the Aussies wont be stretched by the Poms. No way.
Ok, Coming back to the present series, the subtle mindgames have already begun, Kaneria claiming a magic ball (I bet its gonna disappear over midwicket), Dravid whinging abt the amount of media coverage given to Shoaib, Mushtaq praising Ganguly and deriding Inzy's team claiming its the weakest to visit India, and so on. The key factor is going to be that the Pakis will be toughened up after facing the Aussies, and will be competetive in the test matches, and dominant in the ODI's. But the Indians will also be sharp after some domestic match practice . I dont see Pakistan winning the test series. So here's my prediction about the series:
1. India will win the test series 2-1 and lose the ODI series 4-2.
2. The key performers to watch out for in the test matches will be Kumble, Pathan, Gambir and Sehwag from India, and Butt, Afridi, Youhana from the green-jerseys.

My sincere hope is that our hospitality should atleast match, the one given to our team by Pakistani junta last year. Amen!