In fact, skipper Rahul Dravid’s frown said it all: the last time he was here, and scored a century in India’s 2005 win against Pakistan, he was put on drip minutes after the last ball was bowled. This time, he stayed away from nets and his advice to the side was clear: ‘‘You need a lot of mental strength and ability to cope with it.’’

Yuvraj Singh, who was declared fit after an MRI back scan, M S Dhoni and Irfan Pathan stayed away too, preferring to save their best for tomorrow. Of the rest, pacer Sreesanth had a spring in his step—this is his home ground—and opener Robin Uthappa, too, whose mother is from this state.

Then again, that could be due to word from the team management that they may play tomorrow—Sreesanth for Munaf Patel and Uthappa taking off-spinner Romesh Pawar’s place to open the innings with Virender Sehwag.

India’s primary objective, said Dravid, is to wrap up this series here. And that, probably, explains the beefed-up batting line-up. ‘‘We do understand it is an important game. It will be nice (to seal it),’’ he said.

For England then, it’s not just the weather that’s worrying. ‘‘India have taken the game away from us everytime we made inroads. Yuvraj, Raina and Dhoni have been excellent,’’ said wicket-keeper Geraint Jones.

And of course, the humidity. ‘‘They’re almost dripping out there,’’ said Jones, pointing to his team-mates.

Curator P V Ramachandran, meanwhile, insisted that it’s a batsman’s wicket but only ‘‘if you can adjust to the humid conditions.’’

YUVRAJ FIT, SAYS DOC

KOCHI: Will he play? As the Indian team went through its practice routine at the Jawaharlal Nehru here, the day before the fourth one-dayer against England, the buzz was all about the player who wasn’t there. And after a tense few hours for the team management, the doctor’s word was out: Last match’s star Yuvraj Singh, carrying a niggling back injury, ‘‘is fit, doesn’t need rest’’.