I nearly did a delayed double-take after watching Arun Lal prod the pitch pensively. How come so much grass on it? Ravi Shastri had caught on: 'Remember, Ganguly is not playing this match. If the groundsman prepared more of these kind of pitches for the local matches, Bengal would be a far better team". Not much guessing needed as to what was going on in his mind. In another intriguing development, Ntini pulls out after falling down during a friendly football session, just twenty minutes before the toss. Meantime, it is official, NDTV has it straight from the bookies mouth:Indian: 77 paise, SA : 125 paise. India favourites.
