India ready for SA series decider

Third Test, Cape Town: South Africa v India
Match starts 0830 GMT Tuesday
India are looking for a big improvement from their batsmen as they seek a first Test series victory in South Africa.

They failed to bat out the final day in Durban as South Africa evened things up at 1-1, so the pressure will be intense for the decider in Cape Town.

Keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni faces a check on a bruised finger but India are hopeful he will be fit to play.

South Africa, meanwhile, could give a debut to spinner Paul Harris, probably at the expense of paceman Morne Morkel.

But they will only finalise their side when all-rounder Jacques Kallis has undergone a test on the back problem which kept him out of the second Test.

Skipper Graeme Smith was delighted by their 174-run victory in Durban on Saturday but said: "Our feet are firmly on the ground. We know what we have to do. It starts all over again."

India may look to freshen up their bowling attack with either fast bowler Munaf Patel or off-spinner Harbhajan Singh replacing VRV Singh.
"We've got two fast bowlers and a spinner [Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble] who have done a great job for us and a lot of work as well," captain Rahul Dravid admitted.

But of far greater concern is the performance of their batting line-up which has so far failed to register a single century in the series.

Dravid and Virender Sehwag in particular have been short of runs and Sehwag's confidence will not have been lifted by comments the Press Trust of India attributed to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who described the opener's form as "miserable".

Vengsarkar added: "Unless and until you get a good start you cannot get a big score on the board and if you want to score 300, you must have a good start."

Dravid, meanwhile, has refused to dwell on the game in Durban and his side are unlikely to lack nerve having won the final Test in the West Indies last year to seal a series victory.

"It's exciting. We've been competitive with the South Africa team.

"We've stayed with them over the course of both these Test matches so we are quite excited about the next Test match and hope it's a good one."