Swann to make England debut

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The 29-year-old Nottinghamshire off-spinner was named in an England side showing two changes to the line-up which beat South Africa in the final Test of last summer at The Oval.

He replaces injured seamer Stuart Broad and will partner former Northamptonshire team-mate Monty Panesar while Matt Prior reclaims the wicketkeeping role from Tim Ambrose a year after the last of his 10 appearances.

It represents a significant gamble by the tourists at a stadium which was baked in sunshine on Wednesday following Tuesday's rain against an Indian side renowned for their ability against spin.

But captain Kevin Pietersen watched the success of Australian off-spinner Jason Krejza, who claimed 12 wickets on his Test debut in Nagpur at the start of November, and convinced him that playing two spinners offered the best chance of England success.

"It's a decision we have come to because we think the wicket could spin," explained Pietersen. "We've had a look at it and it probably gives us our best and most attacking option.

"Graeme Swann has bowled absolutely fantastically leading up to this Test match and done a great job so it's a well-deserved debut.

"They are not bad players of spin but it's pretty important we go in with two spinners. It doesn't matter how good a player of spin you are, you still have to play well on the day.

"Any debutant is keen and he'll be ready and right at the Indian batsmen. We saw Krejza did well against India as an off-spinner and I think Swann can do a better job."