India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was sincerely hoping for lady luck to smile at him when he walks with his Australian counterpart Michael Clarke for the draw on the opening day of the first cricket Test here on December 26.

Toss will be vital to the outcome of the series premiere, Cameron Hodgkins, the curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday promised a lively opening session on 26 December with a drop-in step which will offer considerable amount of grass.

"I'm waiting for a product similar to what we have been producing for the Sheffield Shield games which is something that is quite challenging for the first 30 overs or so and then flattens out a bit," said Hodgkins.

"I do not want to start a Test match without making it a contest. I hope there will be a bit of grass there, but do not overdo.

"There's obviously going to be some general conditions that I think there will be some movement through the air," he added.

Hodgkins has thus brought alive the nightmare of last year, when they were sent from Australia to hit the MCG by England captain Andrew Strauss and were driven to 98 in just 42.5 overs. By stumps, England were 157 for no loss and the way to beat the test and then to ensure the series 3-0.

Dhoni does not boast a great record bid in which he called correctly only 14 times out of 34 tests as captain of India.

To add to his woes, the draw was favorable Dhoni only once in the last five tests.

But Dhoni could take heart from the fact that his colleague, Michael Clarke record is even worse when it comes to the spin of the coin.

Clarke has won only two out of eight trials play that has spearheaded so far.

The draw also has major significance for both teams as the forecasters predicted conditions cloudy with chance of light rain on the opening day of the Melbourne Test.

Hodgkins also claimed the wicket could be drier and encourage more pace and bounce.

"This will be a little drier than it was in early last year. Fortunately, there will be a bit more bounce and carry," he said.

Interestingly, Hodgkins expected to have rejected the step variable as the game continues.

"It would be" up and down "field."