Bhajji key to India's success

Well, there you have it. For those of you who are statistically minded, Pakistanhave never lost to India at Eden Gardens! In the five Tests that Pakistan haveplayed so far at Eden, they have won one and drawn four and in the one-dayersthe scoreline reads 3-0 in Pakistan''s favour.The way Pakistanbounced back at Mohali has made a joke of the contention that India arefavorites. If anything, Ganguly and his boys will feel the pressure more whenthey step into Eden Gardens. India should have wrapped up the Mohali Test withroom to spare and the inbaility to do so is bound to haunt SouravGanguly.Rain is predicted and both teams will encounter hot andhumid conditions which will take a heavy toll of the seam bowlers (dehydrationand cramps) and also test those batsmen who are game enough for a long stint inthe middle. After India failed to run through the Pak lower order inboth the innings at Mohali, coach John Wright said that "India lack the killerinstinct." Neat phrase that "killer instinct" but all India had to do was playregular cricket - bowl straight and make the batsmen play. These are basics andwhat India lacked was not the ''killer instinct'' but the inability to get thebasics right and get on with the job. Getting the bowlingcombination right is another challenge for the Indian team. With talk of a greentop at Eden Gardens, should India stick to three seamers or go for an extraspinner? Harbhajan Singh might havea thing to two to say if he is left out - the Turbanator with 29 wickets fromjust four Tests at Eden obviously believes that he can spin Pakistanout.As far as records go, Sachin Tendulkar and umpire Steve Bucknorwill be looking to complete tons - Sachin his 35th and Bucknor his100th!On the batting front, India have little to worry with openersVirender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in fine form. Well, maybe Sachin could bat atrifle faster. All that time that he used in the middle to get to 94 (202 balls)and then get out cost India valuable time at Mohali. For Pakistanthe top order remains a problem. Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt and Younis Khan havenot been able to get going. According to reports Inzamam must also be worriedstiff about his new ball attack with Sami suffering from dehydration and Navednursing a sore shoulder. The Eden Gardens wicket for the secondIndo-Pak Test beginning on March 16 would be firm and have even bounce, thoughthe team batting first could be at an advantage with the ball likely to turn inthe later stages. Consider the third day''s play. India made 129 runsin 60 overs between lunch and close of play. And in the afternoon session alone,they made 59 runs in 29 overs. This from a team, mind you, that was on top inthe Test, that had only to drive home the advantage.