One last battle

India are on the precipice of realising an impossible dream, Australia have a legacy to save, a master is searching for redemption, an icon is desperate to leave a final imprint, the pitch is grassy with a promise of turn, two great cricket nations are riveted, and whichever way it goes, the Sydney Cricket Ground is poised to host a fairy-tale ending to an utterly compelling Test series. Never in the recent history of Test cricket has so much been at stake in the last match of a series.

For over a month now, hype-masters and spin-doctors have relentlessly sought to invent an aura for this Test. They needn't have bothered. Cricket has taken care of itself. India have defied expectations with their brilliance and gumption, and Australia have shown their mettle by bouncing back from a body blow, but they would know that history cares little for sentiments. With due respect to the tradition of the Ashes and the glorious precedent of the Frank Worrell Trophy, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has provided cricket its most riveting battles in recent years. The score is even: 13 Tests, 12 results, six each to Australia and India and one rain-affected draw. There's all to play for and you'd have to be a corpse to not be stirred by the sense of occasion.

The teams are tense, and that's natural. "That's the way it should be before a Test match," said Sourav Ganguly. Despite your best efforts, said Steve Waugh, dead rubbers tend to bring a flatness. Under Waugh, Australia haven't been pushed to a position like this before, and India haven't won a Test series outside the subcontinent since 1986. The next five days will not only test their skills but their character.

As it has been throughout this series, batting is expected to be the deciding factor once again, which is as much a reflection on modern cricket as it is a tribute to the batting strength of both sides. But it will also be a test of endurance and fitness, both physical and mental. Rahul Dravid often speaks of the demands a Test match can make on a cricketer's mental reserve. So far, he has given 22 hours and 53 minutes of unflagging concentration to this series, and yet the severest test of this series lies ahead of him, barely 48 hours after the last battle. Modern cricket brings handsome rewards, but is unforgiving. There can be no excuses. The last two Tests were decided on batting mistakes, and the next five days will make no allowances for the most minor of lapses.

John Wright, who is as miserly with his smile as he was with his wicket, talked about India's need to be "fiercely clinical." India need to achieve a position similar to that at the tea break on the first day at the MCG, he said, and not let the foot off the pedal. Faced with the might of Australia's batting and the meagerness of India's bowling, it appears their best hope. Win the toss, bat and put up a big score that will force the Australian batsmen to indiscretion, because the onus will be on them to put up an even bigger score in quick time.

That, of course, depends on Ganguly's luck with the toss, and then, the ability of his batsmen to surmount the conditions. The pitch at the SCG sports more grass, and unlike the MCG, it is green, greener than it has ever been before. It will be rolled again before play begins, but according to Tom Parker, who has been in charge of the square since 1997, it will bounce and seam for the first three days. The pitches at Sydney are no longer the mud-heaps of the 80s when the ball turned from day two. Bullil clay, which is used in the square here, has a 70% clay content and is firm. But it will turn from the fourth day onwards, Parker says.

Therein lies India's biggest dilemma. There was a theory floating this morning, Deep Dasgupta might be inducted as a wicketkeeper-opener to facilitate a fifth bowler. And while it can be argued that risk is sometimes the father of success, it's a theory fraught with implausibility. Dasgupta hasn't convinced as a batsman in this series and his wicketkeeping remains an unknown quantity. To throw him in ahead of two specialists might not be a risk worth taking.

Ganguly had a bowl at the nets today, lending credence to the theory that he might take on the third seamer's role if India chose to go with two pace bowlers. The only pace bowler certain of his place in the side is Ajit Agarkar, with Irfan Pathan and L Balaji being strong contenders for the other spot. Ashish Nehra has been carrying a niggle, and has been the least impressive of India's seamers. He might not find a place in the playing XI even if India were to pick three quick bowlers. If India decide to pick their four best bowlers, irrespective of conditions and the toss, there is good chance that Murali Kartik will play, and he will draw heart from the performance of Ray Price, the Zimbabwean left-arm spinner, at this ground (6 for 121) a few months ago.

For Australia, it is almost certain that Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie will play. Waugh reckons that they are the two bowlers India will least like to face, and despite Lee's profligacy at the MCG, he has the firepower and the reputation to rattle the Indians. That leaves Nathan Bracken and Brad Willams to fight for the last berth. While Williams took four wickets in India's second innings, Bracken brings variety and an ability to bowl against the wind.

It's only 15 hours till the conjecture ends and the play begins. We can hardly wait.

Australia (from) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Brad Williams, 11 Nathan Bracken, 12 Stuart MacGill.

India (from) 1 Akash Chopra, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), VVS Laxman, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Ashish Nehra, 12 Irfan Pathan, 13 L Balaji, 14 Deep Dasgupta.