A successful series would mean that India jumps by one place to the No. 4 spot in the ICC ODI rankings.
Salvaging pride and restoring a semblance of respectability would be top of the agenda when India begins its ODI campaign against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
Driven to the wall and making a mockery of the World Champion tag, England drubbed India in what was the latter's most bizarre overseas tour in recent years.
It is redemption time, and Mahender Singh Dhoni and his youthful new-look Team India will have vengeance on the back of their mind, particularly considering that they will be playing in their own backyard this time round.
The incentive is that a successful series would mean that India jumps by one place to the No. 4 spot in the ICC ODI rankings and hopefully tread their way to the top in upcoming international engagements.
A look at the team's composition makes the series one of the most open ones in quite a while, considering that both teams have some surprise untested elements in their ranks. And this augurs well for the game, since both teams will now be raring go at each other.
Moreover, both teams will be without the services of the bigger names, most of who are sitting out because of injuries of varying kinds.
India will be devoid of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. The only point of note here is that Gautam Gambhir has made it to the squad in time for the big battle.
Absent from the English line-up will be Stuart Broad, who tormented India in last month's series, Eoin Morgan, and the injured James Anderson.
On that count, both teams seem to be sailing in the same boat in terms of big-match experience.
Indians may be at a low-ebb, as against the psychological high the Englishmen will currently be on.
But then Indians, have been masters at bouncing back. And this series presents a golden opportunity to India to showcase its spirit.
The last time the 2 teams met on Indian soil, the visitors were humiliated with 0-5 whitewash.
Now, the ground curator Chandrashekaran has promised a batsman-friendly track. However, this may not be the case if one were to go by the astonishing results of the 2 warm-up matches England played over the past week.
The Englishmen's lack of sub-continent experience will come in handy for India, which is pretty formidable on the flat wickets. Without any purchase for the frontline bowlers, and with only one genuine spinner in Graeme Swann, England will be hard-pressed if the Indian batsmen get into the groove.
Even in the absence of the axed Harbhajan Singh, the hosts have quality spinners, which will come as a decisive advantage because England has no batsman worth the name to tackle spinners on a turning wicket.
As far as the Indian line-up goes, the youngsters might try to make most of the opportunity.
Most, if not all, players are likely go all-out to cement their individual places by the time the seniors ready themselves for a comeback. Should this be the spirit they will display in the ensuing series, then yesterday's bench strength would be tomorrow's competition for the 'veterans' on the comeback trail.
That would be the biggest bonus for Team India in the days ahead.
For now, England will have the psychological advantage of having scored a point or two back home. And there lies the negative factor - they will be under immense pressure to script an encore.
Against that parameter, Dhoni's boys will have no pressure on them.
They will have the biggest advantage of playing on home spoil egged on by thousands of vociferous supporters. For all tactful purposes, this has been India's biggest strength. (INN)