The second and the final Test match between India and South Africa will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The South African side had stunned the Indians by an innings, and with only a tied series in India's grasp, it will be interesting to see how the side goes about it.

There is a lot that has happened since the end of the first Test match. In fact, there was a lot that had happened even leading up to the first game, with the issues in injuries and the manner in which India fell short of one batsman in the middl order thanks to some really stupid selections by the selectors.

The Indian selectors have reacted in a knee-jerk fashion and out go two of the fast bowlers in A. Mithun and Sudep Tyagi, and in comes S. Sreesanth. While one cannot see India play with three quick bowlers, it will be interesting if India can come up with such a juggle. However, even for that to happen, a lot will depend on how the pitch behaves, and therein lies another story.

The curator of the Eden Gardens pitch has said that he was approached by a BCCI official to prepare a spinning track. However, he said he will not bow down to any of these unofficial demands; instead go by the instructions he gets over e-mails. This has meant that that what happened in Nagpur in 2004 could also repeat itself. Then, the Nagpur curator had dished out a green looking pitch in order to avenge the loss to the ruling BCCI faction.

The Indians will have a couple of changes for sure. For one, Wriddhiman Saha, has been left out of the squad after playing only the one Test and scoring a 30 odd in the second innings. He may be replaced by one of VVS Laxman or Suresh Raina in the playing eleven. Apart from that, the bowling for the Indians looks a touch rusty and was one of the reasons why the Indians lost the first game. with Harhajan Singh out of form, Ishant Sharma not getting back to his best, and Amit Mishra struggling to pick up the wickets either, it remains to be seen what the Indians do with their attack. There are an interesting couple days in the offing for the Indians before the captain decides on their bowling.

The South African side, in the meantime has no such issues and will continue to go in with the same side in a bid to become only the second team in the history to win a Test series in India.

Tag :- Amit Mishra   India   Ishant Sharma   South Africa   Suresh Raina   Wriddhiman Saha