India have never beaten Pakistan at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium. In fact, their last victory at the venue was almost ten years ago, against New Zealand. Out of the 15 Tests played there, the home team has only four wins and five defeats to their name.
At Bangalore, India and Pakistan have faced off thrice, with the visitors winning once and two matches ending in draws. By winning the last Test between the two teams in 1986-87 at the venue, Pakistan clinched the five-Test series 1-0 after being bowled out for 116 in the first innings.
But India obliterated a similar record in defeating Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in the second Test last week. And, despite a strong fightback from the visitors in the first Test in Mohali, the hosts have held a clear edge throughout the current series.
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"We will play this Test like we played the last two," declared Ganguly on the eve of the third Test. "We will play to win."
Victory is what the Pakistanis too are seeking. They are even ready to accept defeat in the bargain.
"We will show aggression, and play with a positive attitude. This is a do-or-die game and a loss won't make a difference to us. We must win," said skipper Inzamam-ul Haq.
The match will also be of special importance to Inzamam, as it marks his century of Tests.
On the brink of the proud landmark, Inzamam, who has 7,238 runs under his belt, at an average of 48.90, oddly chose to cite the 1992 World Cup triumph as his most memorable moment.
"I won't forget the 2003 World Cup either, because I made just 19 runs in six innings," he quipped.
For the match at hand, Inzamam feels his batsmen have to shoulder greater responsibility.
"We don't have an experienced bowling attack. Our batsmen are more experienced and they should bear more of the responsibility," he said.
Opener Yasir Hameed, who failed to make it to the side for the first two Tests despite scoring scored 58 and 63 in the last Test against Australia in the recently-concluded series, is expected to come in for Taufeeq Umar while spinner Arshad Khan could replace left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil.
From what one saw in the afternoon, India has opted for a more competitive pitch rather than going for a dud. There were grassy patches on the wicket, and the steel brushes (that were used to scrape out any hint of grass from the pitch during the Test against Australia last year) were, thankfully, nowhere to be seen.
Curator Narayan Raju insisted there was no interference from the captain or the Board of Control for Cricket in India on the nature of the pitch this time.
"It is going to be a good Test wicket; good for fast bowlers at the start. The wicket will turn from the fourth day," Raju said, adding that the grass on the wicket will not be shaved further.
He said he would water the pitch later on Wednesday evening and roll it so that it does not crumble from the first day.
After the players went off, the sprinkling of fans that gathered to watch the nets session also vanished, even as the ground staff applied the finishing touches to the wicket at leisurely pace.
Outside the stadium though the buzz was unrelenting as hundreds queued up for tickets and the organisers rushed about making the last-minute arrangements, like repairing the air-conditioner in the Pakistan dressing room.
Come Thursday, the organisers have assured that the stadium will be choc-a-bloc. A 45,000-strong capacity crowd is expected to fill up the mosaic stands. And just in case the atmosphere gets too hot in the East stand (cheapest stand in the stadium), nets have been drawn to prevent spectators from hurling anything at the players.
Crowd disturbance hasn't been a problem at the venue. Only the Titan Cup league match, between India and Australia in 1996-97, was affected by unruly spectators. India eventually won the match, thanks to a splendid effort from local boys Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath with the bat.
In sum, the setting for the Test is perfect. Ganguly said the wicket is good while Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer called it a "batting paradise".
The toss is sure going to be vital. On a track like this, the team batting first will have a huge advantage.
With Pakistan looking to square the series, rest assured of a battle royal.
Teams (from):
India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Arshad Khan, Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Khalil and Abdul Razzaq.
