Indians under pressure to deliver

Frustrated in equal measure by South Africa's obdurate batsmen and by a benign pitch at Kanpur, Sourav Ganguly's Indian team, overwhelming favourites before the series, are under pressure to produce a win in the final Test of the series, at the Eden Gardens. The Indian team's imposing home record, already sullied this season by the defeat to Australia, is under further threat from Graeme Smith's young and inexperienced side, for whom even a draw would be a favourable result.

The unfancied South Africans have thus far proved worthy opponents. They won a good toss at Kanpur but also played pluckily and adroitly over five days, and must have had all the positives from that game drummed into their ears by their coach Ray Jennings, whose martial, tough-talking demeanour has established him as perhaps the most interesting member of the touring party.

The cynosure of attention for both sides, but especially the Indian team, was the 22 straw-coloured yards that mark out the Eden Garden pitch from the lush green grass that surrounds it. This is the pitch that has been in Ganguly's thoughts (the Indian captain is by all accounts obsessive about pitches) probably since the third day at Kanpur, when it became apparent that the strip they were playing on was not going to yield a result. Indeed, Ganguly may well have been thinking about the next Test and not the present one when he pulled a long-hop down long leg's throat at Kanpur to present Zander de Bruyn with his first Test wicket. He was certainly thinking about it in the post-match conference at Kanpur, when he emphatically declared that the Kolkata pitch was going to be "a result pitch".

And a result pitch it does seem. Even to the naked eye from a distance of a hundred yards it appeared to have crazy-paving lines running down its length, and it seems certain that it will turn - and turn more quickly and sharply than the pitch at Kanpur - from very early in the game. But it should also offer much better bounce and carry, and for this reason Ganguly is probably not keen on re-selecting his lopsided bowling attack of the previous game. Irfan Pathan must play - it will be appalling if South Africa win the toss and bat first, and India only have one bowler to exploit the early morning swing. It is probable that Ganguly will rely on Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh - the bowlers he calls the best spin duo in the world - to exploit what turn the pitch has to offer, and leave Murali Kartik out.

South Africa's selection problems, as befits a side looking first to save the Test before entertaining thoughts of winning it, revolve around their batting. Martin van Jaarsveld looked horribly out of his depth against spin at No.3 in the first Test, and a short series like this one is not forgiving of a fringe player who fails. Hashim Amla, the lauded young player who enjoyed a terrific domestic season and is rated highly by many who have seen him play, will most likely replace van Jaarsveld, though another man - possibly Boeta Dippenaar - may bat at three. Making your debut in an overseas Test is difficult enough, but making it in front of 60,000 people is bound to send tingles, even a shockwave, through the nerves of even the most confident young player.

The other choice that South Africa may be considering is replacing Robin Peterson's modest left-arm spin with the offbreaks and superior batting of Justin Ontong, but this is one area in which they may opt for the more conservative choice, believing that Peterson - who mostly bowls over the wicket outside the right hander's leg stump - may have some value as a holding option. Smith could not reveal at the press conference if Jacques Kallis had recovered fully from his side strain and is fit to bowl, but if he is then his outswingers would certainly give South Africa's attack some bite.

The overall effect of a two-Test series is almost always that of something choppy, half-baked and unsatisfying, and so far this series has given every indication of meeting that standard. But if at all there is a venue in the world that can rouse a contest to a fever pitch, it is the Eden Gardens. Its massive stands were silent today, and ticket sales for tomorrow have reportedly been sluggish - probably because, with the South African batting having no real crowdpleasers, people are waiting to hear who wins the toss - but should Virender Sehwag walk out to bat with Gautam Gambhir first thing tomorrow morning, there is every chance that people will pour in in tens of thousands. It is in this teeming and charged atmosphere that the mettle of this South African team will receive its most severe examination.

India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Zaheer Khan.

South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Andrew Hall, 3 Boeta Dippenaar, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Hashim Amla, 7 Zander de Bruyn, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Thami Tsolekile, 11 Makhaya Ntini.