Will history repeat itself?

Having been thoroughly outplayed in the first Test, India will be desperately hoping that history repeats itself and that victory in Kolkata will allow them to tie the series - as it did when the two teams played in 2008.

On that occasion, South Africa led a three-Test series 1-0 only to be turned over, in more ways than one, in the final Test in Kanpur. This time, they lead the two-match series 1-0, knowing that anything other than defeat in the second and final Test, beginning on Sunday, will give them only their second series win in India.

If they play anything like the way they did in Nagpur, then India will find it very difficult to stop them. The hosts badly missed Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and simply could not stop the efforts of the South Africa attack.

Bet365 make the draw the narrow favourite at 11/10 - not surpirsing given the fact that South Africa don't need to win it - while India are 15/8 and the tourists are 11/4. Graeme Smith and South Africa are expecting the pitch to turn wildly and if it does, we can expect to see two spinners in the India side, of course.

India will be smarting but it will take a massive effort if they are to salvage something from the series. It's not that they are not capable of it, but with Dravid missing again and Laxman doubtful, the batting will be under immense pressure to hold up.

That means messrs Sehwag, Gambhir and Tendulkar firing, preferably in the first innings. Sehwag, who hit a century in vain in the first innings in Nagpur, is 3/1 favourite to top-score in the first innings this time round.

Both Gambhir and Tendulkar - whose century in the second innings was another outstanding effort - are 7/2, while Laxman, who is probably 50-50 to play, at the time of writing, is 5/1. Murali Vijay is also 5/1, while new boy Subramaniam Badrinath is 13/2. Suresh Raina is 7/1 and captain MS Dhoni 15/2.

Jacques Kallis - who else? - is favourite to top-score for South Africa at 10/3, though this time he shares the honour with captain Smith at 10/3. Kallis's efforts in the first innings at Nagpur may not have ensured him top-spot in this market but it did go a long way to setting the platform for South Africa's win.

The honour of top bat there went to Hashim Amla and the South Africa No 3 is 4/1 third favourite to repeat his effort this time. AB De Villiers is next at 5/1, Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen are both 11/2 and JP Duminy is backable at 13/2.

To me, this match is all about the mental side. South Africa still have a slight reputation for choking when the finishing line is almost there but this group of players has more experience and I don't think they will choke this time.

India, on the other hand, will be desperate to perform well and that makes them a bigger danger than ever, especially on home soil where if they start well, they will be very hard to stop. Over the past three years, they have added resilience to their undoubted talent and I can see them coming back to draw the series by winning in Kolkata.

That said, the toss is crucial because the side who bats first, especially if it's a turner, will theoretically have a massive advantage. It's nip and tuck, but India could just do it.