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Tamim revealed another X-ray showed a fracture of the thumb still remained

Mohammad Isam14-Nov-2021A thumb injury has ruled Tamim Iqbal out of Bangladesh’s two-match Test series against Pakistan starting later this month. An X-ray report on Sunday revealed that he had a fracture on his left thumb, which he had earlier injured during an Everest Premier League match in Kathmandu last month.Tamim completed rehabilitation work on the thumb in the last four weeks, even starting to bat against fast bowling recently at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. He was planning to appear for Chattogram Division in the National Cricket League in the fifth round that began today. But the continued swelling and pain prompted a second look, which showed that a fracture remained.”The fracture had almost healed but my thumb remained swollen,” Tamim said. “So we wanted to have another X-ray, which revealed that there was a fracture. Probably there were two, but it didn’t come out in the first scan. The finger has gone back into the split. I can’t move it. The whole process has to start again.”Tamim last played for Bangladesh in the ODI series against Zimbabwe in July before a knee injury kept him out of Bangladesh’s build-up for the T20 World Cup. He eventually skipped the tournament to give the other openers a fair chance.Bangladesh will play three T20Is against Pakistan in Dhaka starting this Friday, before the two-match Test series beginning in Chattogram on November 26. The second Test in Dhaka is from December 4. This is Bangladesh’s first series in the World Test Championship’s second cycle.Tamim will now prepare himself for Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand where they will play two Tests in January. Bangladesh’s next ODIs, where Tamim is the captain, are against Afghanistan in February next year.

Captain doesn’t bowl for second day running after bagging golden duck as well

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2020Brathwaite XI 275 and 99 for 3 lead Holder XI 193 by 181 runsRaymon Reifer appeals succesfully for the wicket of Jason Holder•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Left-armer Raymon Reifer seized his chance to impress with five wickets in the space of 11 balls on day two of the West Indies’ intra-squad match at Emirates Old Trafford.The all-rounder produced an inspired spell in the afternoon session as Kraigg Brathwaite’s XI took a dominant position over the side led by Test captain Jason Holder.Holder’s team were set fair on 95 for 2 when Reifer ripped their middle order out in quick time, leaving them 111 for 7 and, eventually, 193 all out.In just a few minutes’ work he removed Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua da Silva, Holder, Shayne Moseley and Rahkeem Cornwall, paving the way for an 82-run first-innings lead.That had stretched to 181 at stumps, opener John Campbell making up for his day-one duck with an attacking 49 in a score of 99 for 3.
It was Reifer who gained most from the outing, though, making up for his lack of express pace by zeroing in on the perfect length and using his angles well. Three of his victims nicked to slip or gully – Bonner, Da Silva and Moseley all feeling for contact in the channel – while Cornwall hacked unimpressively to mid-on to seal the five-for.But in terms of advancing his outside chance of an appearance in the series opener against England on July 8, the most notable scalp would have been Holder, pinned lbw for a golden duck. The Bajan commands huge respect among his squad and is increasingly one of the most respected voices in the global game but that did not stop the fielding side whooping in the loudest celebration of the day as he was given first ball.Holder also declined to bowl himself for the second day in a row, inviting further questions over the niggling ankle injury he has been working his way back from.Reifer, who won his only Test cap in 2017 against New Zealand, finished with 5 for 60 as Kyle Mayers added a bright 45 to bring down the arrears. He was last man out to Marquino Mindley, who also dismissed Roach.Mindley had earlier uprooted Jermaine Blackwood’s middle stump as he auditioned unsuccessfully as a top-order rival for Campbell.Blackwood is one of of 14 players in the official 14-man squad – with Shannon Gabriel set to be added – while the remainder of the 25-man party are listed as reserves.It was two of those standbys who did the bulk of the scoring for Holder’s team, Moseley eking out 40 and Sunil Ambris riding his luck on his way to an unconvincing 52.Campbell and Blackwood returned to the crease for the evening session and raced to their 50 stand in just 7.4 overs. There were a few thick edges but also plenty of clean hits and good running, with Gabriel taking the brunt of the pain with 38 off his first four overs.Campbell was not always secure, and was dropped at mid-off on 29, but moved within a single of his half-century before Alzarri Joseph set him up lbw.Joseph bowled a wonderful spell late on, winning another lbw when he went full and straight to Shai Hope, who was dropped on nought and gone for two.”You can always give yourself a chance with the Dukes ball in England,” Reifer said at the close.”If you’re able to get a bit of shine on it there is always some movement to be found in these conditions. If the ball is seaming around then it is favourable for me.”I was pretty pleased with the five wickets, I just put the ball in the right areas and it started to bite.”Reifer, cousin of batting coach Floyd, has not worn the West Indies whites since his debut against New Zealand in 2017, but did feature in a pair of one-day internationals in Ireland last summer.”The ultimate dream is always to play Test cricket and to play as many Tests as possible,” he said.”I made my debut three years ago and haven’t played since, so if the opportunity presents itself I’ll be looking to play.”I’m not thinking too far ahead, we have another day in this match and potentially another chance with bat and ball then a four-day game coming up, but I’m pretty pleased with how it’s gone.”

Paul Horton guided his side to 99 for 1 chasing 230 to win at Hove after Sussex collapsed during the morning

ECB Reporters Network07-Apr-2019Leicestershire were on course to claim their first County Championship win over Sussex for 17 years after making a positive start to their pursuit of a target of 230 at Hove. Skipper Paul Horton made an unbeaten 53 to take his side to 99 for 1 when rain arrived at tea and play was abandoned for the day at 5.35pm with Leicestershire still needing 131.Debutant Hasan Azad helped Horton put on an unbroken 72 for the second wicket after David Wiese had pinned Ateeq Javid lbw with an in-swinger for 11.Horton reached his half-century off 79 balls with seven fours but he needed a check by the Leicestershire physio after ducking into a Chris Jordan’s bouncer which struck him on the helmet.Their victory charge had been set up earlier in the day by offspinner Colin Ackermann, who finished with career-best figures of 5 for 69, and seamer Tom Taylor, who claimed four more victims to add to his six in the first innings for a match haul of 10 for 122, also a career-best.Sussex had resumed on 211 for 2 – a lead of 132 – and in good batting conditions must have been confident of setting the visitors a target of more than 300. Instead, they lost their last eight wickets in adding a further 97, three of them for 11 balls at a cost of two runs during the morning session.Taylor made a breakthrough in the first over when Stiaan van Zyl (41) feathered an outswinger to Lewis Hill, one of four catches for the Foxes’ wicketkeeper.Luke Wells and Harry Finch added 23 with few alarms before Sussex’s middle order was wrecked by Taylor and Ackermann. Wells lost patience on 48 and also lost his middle stump aiming an expansive drive at Taylor. In his next over Taylor had Wiese leg-before to a ball which kept a touch low while Sussex captain Ben Brown was lbw playing back to Ackermann for his second duck of the match.Sussex rebuilt through Finch and Jordan, who added 49 for the seventh wicket, but when it appeared that they were wresting back the initiative Ackermann completed his five-for with two wickets in three balls thanks to athletic catches at short leg by Azad. Jordan was held off a top-edged sweep and Ollie Robinson became the sixth Sussex batsman to go for a duck in the match, again off a misjudged sweep.The innings ended shortly after lunch. Danny Briggs was caught behind off Taylor’s outswinger and Finch, with only last man Mir Hamza for company, drove at Chris Wright and Hill did the rest behind the stumps.

The former Australia captain fills the void left by Rahul Dravid’s departure

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2018Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will return to the IPL this season, this time as head coach of Delhi Daredevils. Hemant Dua, the chief executive of Daredevils, made the announcement on Twitter.Ponting takes over from Paddy Upton and former India captain Rahul Dravid, who had stepped down after the previous season owing to BCCI’s conflict-of-interest regulations. While Upton’s contract wasn’t renewed, Dravid chose to coach India A and India Under-19 teams over the IPL franchise.Delhi were in contention for a playoff berth last season, only to taper off towards the end of the group stage. They eventually finished the season sixth, with six wins in 14 matches. The franchise is yet to win a title in 10 attempts.Ponting had coached Mumbai Indians to their second IPL title in 2015, but the franchise chose to not renew his two-year contract when it expired in 2016. He had joined the franchise as a player in 2013, but stepped away midway through the tournament due to poor form.Ponting also worked with Mumbai Indians in an advisory capacity in 2014. Prior to that, he was briefly part of Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural edition in 2008.

The former India captain believes England should play two fast bowlers and three spinners, given their depth in batting

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-20161:11

Ganguly: Not the same Anderson as 2012

England have tried everything within their means to get their most successful Test bowler ever fit in time for a major part of the series in India, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly wouldn’t pick James Anderson in the playing XI even if he was available for selection.”I wouldn’t play him [Anderson] in India to be honest,” said Ganguly, who will be part of ESPNcricinfo Match Day, the analysis show that will be aired both on ESPNcricinfo and on the SONYESPN channel on every day of the five-Test series.”It’s not the same Anderson as 2012,” Ganguly said. “I saw him in the Test series in England recently. He has lost a bit of pace. And I think Stuart Broad and Steven Finn and Ben Stokes [will be more effective] because you will need a bit of pace in these conditions to get that ball to reverse. So I don’t know whether he will make the side when he comes back. Not in Vizag [Visakhapatnam] where the ball will turn square.”In a recent ODI in Visakhapatnam, legspinner Amit Mishra took five wickets to bowl New Zealand out for 79, which is a sign of the conditions that England can expect in the second Test. If everything goes right with Anderson’s rehab – he has not bowled since August because of a shoulder injury – he could be fit in time for that Test. However, Ganguly feels Anderson shouldn’t play the rest of the series either.”I don’t see him playing in the second Test,” Ganguly said. “And if I were the England captain, I would go in with two fast bowlers: [Stuart] Broad and Ben Stokes [along with Chris Woakes]. A bit of zip, a bit of pace, reverse. And play three spinners. Moeen Ali, Gareth Batty and another spinner. The advantage is, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes can get runs with the bat. It makes the batting a lot longer, and you still have three spinners for these conditions. That’s the way I will go, and I don’t think Jimmy Anderson bowling at 80 miles an hour will find a place in my side.”Doubts about Anderson’s fitness, in light of his integral role in the 2012 series, is part of a larger reason why Ganguly doesn’t expect England to win a Test in the five-match series. He knows England have a good record against India, and that they won the last series in India, but the teams have changed a lot since then, he said.”They have a great record in India to be honest,” Ganguly said. “In 2006 when they came it was 1-1, when they won in Mumbai. In 2012 they won the series 2-1. India going to England and losing 4-0 and then 3-1. So England have got a great record against India but whether this England team can get past India in a five-Test series, I am not sure. Because when you look at the side that played in 2012, the most important part was those two spinners: Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann. Both high-quality spinners, and both match-winners. And Jimmy Anderson at his best. The Jimmy Anderson of four years ago.”Also the India team wears a completely different look. “When they caught India in 2012, it was a side that had lost 4-0 in Australia,” Ganguly said. “A side whose confidence was pretty down. It was battered overseas for a long period of time. But England are now facing a side that is high on confidence. New captain. Results have come the team’s way. It’s going to be very, very tough for England. That’s what I believe. But in sport, anything can happen.”For anything to happen, it won’t be just any old thing, it will have to be “magical” if England are to compete. “England will have to play very, very well to get past India in this series,” Ganguly said. “Not just play very, very well, do something absolutely magical. Like Alastair Cook did last time in 2012. Three back-to-back Test hundreds. Kevin Pietersen played that unbelievable knock in Mumbai. Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott getting hundreds. Somebody or the other stood up for them. Whether they have that same quality in batting, I am not too sure.”1:28

‘This England side lacks firepower to beat India’

As with the last series, Cook will have to set the tone. “He has had success in India so he will be confident when he comes to that series,” Ganguly said. “I thought he played well in Bangladesh on those tough pitches but he has got to fire. He has got to stand up for his team. Lead from the front. And people need to support him. The likes of Joe Root, who I think is an outstanding player. Ben Stokes, who I think will have a huge role in this series. These three have to fire for England consistently if they have to have some chance in the series.”The three superstars won’t be enough. Moeen Ali, who did well against India in England in 2014, will have to be at his best too. “He is definitely a threat for India,” Ganguly said. “The wickets will spin. His confidence against India will be high as a bowler. He has definitely become a better batsman than since that trip of 2014 when he was peppered with short deliveries from Ishant Sharma and the Indian bowlers. He has definitely become a better cricketer than then. He will be tested. He needs to get runs and get wickets as well, but do they have a Graeme Swann or Monty Panesar? I don’t think so.”The one advantage England have is they are not turning up blind. They played Test cricket in some testing conditions in Bangladesh just before this trip. It was so testing they didn’t even feel the need for a warm-up game in India. Ganguly doesn’t expect the conditions in India to be as extreme as Bangladesh, but sees it as good preparation for England.”Those wickets to be honest were absolute minefields,” Ganguly said. “Although the series was drawn 1-1, it can’t get worse than that for them in terms of the surface. And I saw the pitch in the last Test. It spun from everywhere. You just had to put the ball in the right place, and it did everything. In India they are going to encounter better pitches. That sort of pitch will be on day five of the Test. But when I saw the ball land on the first day of the Test in Bangladesh, it was actually like a day-five pitch.”They [England] haven’t played well in Bangladesh, but it will get them used to the conditions. I firmly believe when teams from the subcontinent go away or when it is the other way around, it is about getting used to the conditions as quickly as possible. I think it is going to help them in that aspect, but I still maintain [doubts] that whether they have that spark in this side to beat India in this series.”Ganguly will be joined on ESPNcricinfo Match Day by Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott, who were both part of the series-winning England team to India in 2012-13 in which Anderson played an important role.

Chandrakant Pandit marks a return as the Mumbai coach after over a decade, when there isn’t a single Test player in the squad for the first two matches

Amol Karhadkar30-Sep-20153:39

Jaffer has been a pillar of Mumbai cricket – Pandit

The last time Chandrakant Pandit was in charge of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, for the 2004-05 semi-final against Punjab, the team had five Test cricketers. During his three-year stint as coach, Mumbai won two titles, thanks to the presence of a plethora of experienced and international players in the side.In 2015-16, when Pandit marks a return as the Mumbai coach after over a decade, there isn’t a single Test player in Mumbai’s squad for the first two matches. Naturally, Pandit has his task cut out to get Mumbai back to winning ways.”Mumbai have always had experienced players, that is something we are probably missing out on,” Pandit told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Mumbai’s season-opener against Andhra. “Some of the players have been around for four-five years. That four-to-five years’ experience has to be utilised. One has to stand up as a role model especially when we have six-seven youngsters who can look up to them. I always believe whatever force we have, we should believe in it and go forward.”Its legacy of winning the Ranji Trophy as frequently as the local train logjam in the monsoon aside, Mumbai Ranji teams have always seen a plethora of current and former Test players in action. The old Mumbai fans would not have imagined a Ranji squad without a single Test player.It has happened this year. Even last season, with Wasim Jaffer being injured for most of the season, Mumbai had to field a team without a Test player but Jaffer was present in the dressing room and worked as a mentor for most of the season.Jaffer has switched to Vidarbha as a professional now. With Zaheer Khan unfit and the duo of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane on India duty, Mumbai have had to field a relatively young squad. More than his run-scoring ability, it is the experience factor for which Mumbai will miss Jaffer the most.”You think about every experienced player who has contributed in the dressing room, there is no replacement at all. Wasim Jaffer has been a great player. He was a pillar for Mumbai,” Pandit said. “What he has done in the last so many years, I think that will be missed in the dressing room. He was looked at [as] one of the role models in the dressing room. When I was young, we looked at Vengsarkar, Gavaskar, Patil who inspired us. That is what something will be missed this season.”A young outfit led by Aditya Tare will begin the quest for winning Mumbai’s 41st Ranji title. But it will be a humongous challenge for Mumbai, considering seven of the 15 squad members have had single-digit caps in first-class cricket. Pandit feels it’s a “huge challenge” to get the best out of youngsters.Thanks to their consistency in pocketing Ranji titles in the past, anything but a title-winning performance is traditionally treated as a failure. Pandit believes Mumbai cricket is coming to terms with that fact.”People who are involved in Mumbai cricket, they do understand you can’t win it every year. But everyone wants to win,” he said. “I am sure they understand that now. We may miss out for another one or two years but the plan is to dominate for five years thereafter [in succession].”I don’t really think about it because some other states have really improved. The competition level, infrastructure and facilities have improved. Naturally every state is going to take advantage of that. We cannot underestimate any other team.”

Harbhajan Singh has played just one Test since the end of the England tour in the middle of 2011 and made no pretensions of the fact that he’s on a comeback trail and is keen to be selected for the Test series against Australia

Siddhartha Talya at the Wankhede Stadium05-Feb-2013Harbhajan Singh has played just one Test since the end of the England tour in the middle of 2011 and made no pretensions about the fact that he’s on a comeback trail and is keen to be selected for the Test series against Australia starting later this month. The Irani Cup game against Mumbai starting on Wednesday, he said, “is the best game I’ve got” ahead of the series to make a lasting impression.”I just want to be relaxed and look to bowl rather than running after wickets,” Harbhajan told reporters on the eve of the Irani Cup game. “The wickets will come, today or tomorrow, but my aim is to bowl well. I’m sure I’ll get those rewards if I bowl well.”Harbhajan led Punjab in five Ranji Trophy games this season, picking up 16 wickets at 32.25. He has an impressive record against Australia, picking up 90 wickets at 29.35, and shot to fame against them in 2001 in a three-match series at home in which he collected 32 wickets. “I always look forward to playing cricket, whether it’s against Australia or England or Mumbai. It’s one of those things that’s there in my blood. I want to be there, play cricket, and enjoy the moment. Australia, I’ve done well against them, if I get a chance to play against them I’ll try to repeat what I’ve done against them.”At 99 Tests, Harbhajan is just one game away from becoming the 10th Indian cricketer to have played 100 or more Tests. Though he admitted it did play on his mind, his experience, he said, has taught him to not pay undue attention to such landmarks. “Somewhere it does get into your head, you’re close to 100 Test matches, even when you’re batting between 90 to 100 or when you’ve taken four wickets and looking to get five. But somehow as a player you just need to go with the game rather than thinking too much ahead. If you just concentrate on the process, things will automatically happen for you. If not today, tomorrow it will happen.”Last year onwards, I’ve been trying too many things to play my 100th Test, but when I started playing I never thought I’ll come this far. I’ve come this far because I was just looking to enjoy the game, just looking to go back into the whole system of trying to enjoy the game and playing with lot of passion, things will start happening.”

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will hold a teleconference on Saturday in an effort to resolve the impasse between the board, the Guyana Cricket Board (GICB) and the Guyanese government

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2012The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will hold a teleconference on Saturday in an effort to resolve the impasse between the board, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Guyanese government. Earlier this month, the GCB was locked out of its premises by the Guyana government, which appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) headed by Clive Lloyd to govern the sport in the country.Lloyd is also a non-member director of the WICB; last week, Anand Senasie, the secretary of the GCB which has been replaced by the IMC, wrote to the WICB president Julian Hunte, asking him to remove Lloyd from his role as non-member director.The WICB refused to recognise the IMC, and the impasse, it was feared, would prevent Guyana from competing in the Caribbean T20, though that didn’t happen. But the board is set to meet ahead of the Regional Four Day Competition, the first-class tournament starting on February 3.”The WICB is making every effort to find a solution. On Saturday we will be holding a teleconference to discuss it as well as an issue with Jamaica. Both (the GCB and IMC) have been at each other and clearly that can’t continue. The players’ business must come first,” WICB director Dr Allen Sammy told .The IMC has named a provisional 30-man squad, with Ramnaresh Sarwan as captain, for the first-class competition, and the WICB said efforts should be made to ensure the players are not distracted by the ongoing problem. “What is most important is that players must be given an opportunity to play for their country and without any burden on their mind. They are playing to win for Guyana and to get on the West Indies team but the right environment must be there for that to happen,” Sammy said.The current standoff between the Guyana government – represented by sports minister Frank Anthony – and the GCB, and by extension the WICB, dates back to the disputed Guyana board elections in July 2011.

Hamish Bennett, the New Zealand fast-bowler, has insisted he’s happy to support Tim Southee and James Franklin despite being an obvious new-ball candidate after his heroics in New Zealand’s nine-wicket defeat of Pakistan in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2011Hamish Bennett, the New Zealand fast-bowler, has insisted he’s happy to support Tim Southee and James Franklin despite being an obvious new-ball candidate after his heroics in New Zealand’s nine-wicket defeat of Pakistan in the first ODI.He and Southee were expected to open the bowling but allrounder Franklin took the new ball with Bennett second change. The formula clearly worked well as Southee finished with man-of-the-match figures of 5 for 33 and Bennett chipping in with three wickets of his own.New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said a horses-for-courses approach was being taken and with the history of bowler-friendly conditions Queenstown, Southee and Franklin’s ability to swing the new ball would likely see them open again in Wednesday’s second match.”I think we’ll look to use James, particularly in Queenstown where the wicket probably suits the swing and seam bowler,” Vettori said. “When we get to the likes of Hamilton and Napier, maybe we’ll revisit it on the flatter wickets.”Vettori felt that Bennett, who finished with 3 for 26 from eight overs in just his third one-day international, was better suited to first or second change.”I think that’s where he’s most comfortable, but if he keeps bowling as well as he did [on Saturday], there’s no reason why he can’t step up into that opening role. We just hope he keeps performing that way.”Bennett, 23, is by far the quickest bowler in the team and generated good pace and bounce throughout the opening ODI. He was happy to start with the older ball in the circumstances but hopes to get hold of the new ball in future and feels he can generate more pace as he settles into the team.”I think Franky and Timmy do a good job swinging the new ball so we’ve got to use that, especially with the conditions we had [on Saturday],” he said. “I probably rely more on bounce so if I can use that and bowl a heavy nut it’s going to help.””I’ve never bowled [at the stadium] before so it was quite funny, it always felt like you were bowling into [the wind], so I found that quite tough. Hopefully in Queenstown I have the wind at my back. I think in Bangladesh last year I got clocked just under 145kmh so if I can get the conditions going my way, hopefully a bit quicker but who knows? If it’s not in the right area it doesn’t really matter, does it?”New Zealand routed Pakistan with their batsmen chasing down the modest target of 125 in just 17.2 overs. The new opening partnership of Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill surged with an 84-run stand in 10 overs as John Wright’s first move for the ODI team succeeded. Ryder returned to form after a difficult Test series with 55 from 34 balls, while Guptill ended 40 not out and Ross Taylor was unbeaten on 23.After an 11-match losing streak last year Vettori was pleased to return to winning ways but cautioned the conditions were nothing like what the side will face come the World Cup next month. “It’s a difficult one because we’re not going to play on any wickets like that at the World Cup but this series is about getting that winning feeling back.”

With one of the most well-rounded teams in the world game currently, South Africa look good to win a Test series in India, but they should not write off the hosts, who have displayed the habit of doing exceptionally well under pressure

S Aga13-Feb-2010Different teams react to pressure in different ways. In the past, South Africa didn’t really enjoy being pushed into a corner. When subjected to pressure, they had all the resilience of a can of Castle. Then Perth happened and later, Melbourne. As recently as last month, they demolished England in a game that they had to win to at least share spoils in a series where they had been the better side. Traditionally, India have been just the opposite. Few sides start a series as poorly, and few summon up such memorable performances when least expected.On the tour of England in 2002, they were routed at Lord’s and escaped at Trent Bridge before deciding to bat first in seamer-friendly conditions at Headingley. They won by an innings. After the dramatic last-afternoon collapse and the attendant controversy at Sydney (2008), they went to Perth and ambushed Australia in conditions where they were expected to submit to Australia’s four-man pace attack.A few months later, South Africa humiliated them on a well-grassed surface at Ahmedabad and then won the toss on a pitch never likely to last the distance in Kanpur. But Sourav Ganguly produced a masterful 87 to give India a 60-run lead and the bowlers did the rest. Dale Steyn may have referred to it as a bunsen-burner of a pitch, but it took some especially inept batting to squander the advantage of the toss.Whenever the Eden Gardens is mentioned, thoughts turn to those unforgettable five days in March 2001. It’s easy to forget that that too came after a clinical Australian display in Mumbai, when everyone except Sachin Tendulkar looked utterly out of their depth.After the crushing win in Nagpur, South Africa’s confidence couldn’t be higher, and all eyes are on the nature of a pitch that the curator has insisted won’t be dictated by home interest. The last time these two teams played in Kolkata, Graeme Smith was amazed by the reception that his team got during an utterly one-sided 10-wicket victory. That one-day game had come soon after the Greg Chappell-Sourav Ganguly spat and with Kolkata’s golden boy sidelined, the Indian players muttered afterwards of how they’d felt like the away side.The South Africans shouldn’t expect such backing this time, but with capacity reduced to half because of renovations, they also won’t have to confront the intimidating atmosphere that made even grizzled Australian veterans quail back in 2001. With the Test starting on a Sunday though, expect plenty of noise each time a wicket falls or a four is hit.South Africa won by a mammoth 329 runs back in 1996, but were on the wrong end of a Harbhajan Singh special in 2004. A Jacques Kallis-century had held the first innings together but with India having built a significant lead, the close-in fields and sharp turn were too much to handle. Smith and Kallis offered stout resistance but having found his rhythm, Harbhajan was unstoppable.He will once again be a central figure, especially after all the questions raised about his form and lack of effectiveness in Nagpur. He has 38 wickets from his six Tests at Eden Gardens, but India will need to catch much better than they did in the first Test if that tally is to be enhanced. With Kallis and Hashim Amla in prime form, and Smith unlikely to go a full series without playing a big innings, India need to latch on to every chance that comes their way.With the winter cold still to disappear completely, the pace bowlers will certainly enjoy the conditions, and that should persuade India to break with tradition and go with three pace bowlers. With Zaheer Khan now undoubtedly the best bowler in the line-up, spin isn’t the weapon it once was. If Harbhajan needs support, there’s always Virender Sehwag to bowl some overs of canny offspin.If India are to find a route back into the series though, there’s little doubt that the principal protagonists are the men at the top of the order. When Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir score, they do so at such a pace that even the biggest threats – Mendis and Murali in Galle in 2008 – are neutralised. Gambhir had his first poor Test in ages at Nagpur, while Sehwag alone handled Steyn with any confidence at the first time of asking. How they combine here will decide India’s fate.South Africa were 2-0 winners back in 2000, but in 1996, 2004 and 2008, they found the last Test of the series a bridge too far. Smith insists that things have changed, that this is a more battle-hardened outfit. In Steyn, they have the best bowler in the world. Kallis is the best allrounder since Imran Khan. This really does look like a team whose time has come. Just don’t write off India, who have a habit of scaling great heights from subterranean depths.