Having surprised India by their performance in Nagpur, England captain Andrew Flintoff sought to put the home team on the backfoot ahead of the Mohali Test, saying his side was capable of taking a 1-0 lead as the bouncy track would favour his battery of pacemen.
"It (the pitch) should offer more bounce, more pace and we have a decent chance to take the lead," Flintoff said after the team's practice session.
It rained in Mohali overnight and the upper hills in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh had snowfall and conditions are likely to stay slightly overcast till Thursday, the opening day of the second Test.
England went into the series as underdogs after skipper Michael Vaughan, his deputy Marcus Trescothick and fast bowler Simon Jones were forced to fly back home due to injury and personal reasons before the Test series began.
But the visitors defied the odds and came out on top at the end of the drawn first Test in Nagpur last week.
Flintoff, however, said his team needed to maintain the "good show" they had put up so far and not allow complacency to take over.
"As long as we do things we did last week, we should be OK. We can't be complacent at this stage of the series as we have still got to do things we did last week," he said.
Praising his team, Flintoff said "it is a young side lads have been doing great and they have taken the ownership of the side."
The three debutants of his team also received some praise from Flintoff, who is captaining the side in the absence of Michael Vaughan.
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"I have been given the job for a few weeks and will behave the way I do, and do things that I do," he said.
"I am just keeping Michael (Vaughan's) job warm, and the quicker he gets into team the better."
He also said he sought his teammates' opinion and if they were worthwhile "we take them on board".
Referring to the drawn Nagpur Test, he said, "we went out there with a definite plan and we stuck to that."
Asked if the Sourav Ganguly controversy was helping his side, Flintoff said, "It is not affecting us."
