09 August,2011 08:25 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
As the Indian team deals with a depressing 0-2 series scoreline and absentees through injuries, the unfamiliarity factor in Birmingham is not making things any easier for the visitors.
Onlyu00a0Sachin Tendulkar in the current squad has played a Test here beforeu00a0-- way back in 1996. The batting maestro scored a wondrous hundred in a losing cause as India were overwhelmed by Michael Atherton's men in the first Test of that series. The remaining two at Lord's and Trent Bridge were drawn.
Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his ton at Edgbaston during the 1996 tour.
Only Tendulkar, from the current Test team, has played at Edgbaston,
the venue for the third India vs England Test. PIC/Getty Images
And in the last decade, India have figured here in only two one-day internationals (2002 and 2004).
The weather can be a challenge too. While there was no rain to deter the team at practice yesterday, the cold, windy conditions was too omnipresent to ward off.
However, a burst of sunshine helped and the Indians seemed to be happy with the way they trained. Rain is predicted for Day Two of the Test and no one can rule out showers disrupting other days of the Test. The Stadium's ground staff say that the drainage system hasu00a0 improved drastically after around six hundred thousand pounds been spent on the drainage, according to a spokesperson of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club. "Play can be resumed quicker than before but hopefully we won't have any rain this week," the spokesperson added.
The Indian team continued to stay away from the media. Rahul Dravid and Abhinav Mukund addressed the media two days before the Lord's and Nottingham Tests respectively someone should have been behind the microphone yesterday.
No luck for the media though.
Probably the two embarrassing losses have left the team speechless.
