Sourav Ganguly, former Indian Cricket captain, said that India would pose a stiff challenge for England  in their tour of India this Month. He said that India had an extraordinary team that would be hard to beat in home grounds.

He said, "The Indian team is a good team. It is an extraordinary team on its home soil”. He added that they may not have performed well in matches abroad but on home soil they were extraordinary and would be difficult for any team to beat.

The first Test of the Ind vs Eng 2012-13 would begin on November 15 only a couple of days after the festival of lights, Diwali.

Ganguly mentioned that India would not take their revenge against England to which it lost shamefully in 2011 without a single win. After the 4-0 rout India can only assuage their pain with a clean sweep in Indian soil this series but avenging their loss would only be meaningful if they beat England in their home grounds.

Ganguly said, "The revenge is not complete as we were defeated on English soil. The revenge would be complete once England team is defeated on its own soil, as we were defeated in 2007 and 2011. India shall play well and they are the favourites”.

Dada also emphasized on the importance of spinners in this Test Series pointing out at key players in the game such as Harbhajan Singh, Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.

After the first test, the second test would be held in Mumbai on November 23. The later third and fourth tests would be held in Kolkata and Nagpur after which India will have little respite as they vie against Pakistan. When England return to their hometown to celebrate Christmas, the Ind vs Pak bilateral matches which would resume after several years of abeyance.

(AW- Anil)