India await another Eden miracle

New Delhi: Is Dhoni's heart hurting more than Dravid's jaw, Laxman's hand and Yuvraj's fingers now?

It must be because Dale Steyn and Co. folded up India twice within two days and if the humiliation of an innings defeat at home isn't depressing enough, Graeme Smith has one hand already on the number one Test rank.

South Africa lived up to the much hype of the number one battle and came up with a sterling performance and India have nothing but oranges to take back home from Nagpur.

It's over to Eden Gardens now which has become synonymous with the miraculous 2001 win over Australia. Except there is no Dravid and may be no Laxman either. Men who could inspire India are not many. And the inexperienced India have very few go-to men in the eleven.

But Dhoni's men are known to bounce back strongly. They have done it more often than not and have their own track record to take heart from.

India have to win at the Eden Gardens and for that, India's bowlers have to raise their game by several notches and more. Another performance like Nagpur and Dhoni might start preparing his post-match conference speech behind the stumps as South African batsmen enjoy the hospitality offered by Harbhajan and Co.

Steyn and Morkel showed what the wicket had for the pacers in Nagpur when Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bent their backs but with no result. Harbhajan and somewhat unlucky Amit Mishra have to bring in more guile and variation to fox the potent South African batting.

The Indian batting needs to shake off the Steyn blaze. Their defensive approach did not help them in Nagpur. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will be the key men and their performance will be crucial in Kolkata. Sachin Tendulkar has to carry on with his good form and a 47th hundred will do India good immensely.

And most importantly, Dhoni has to lead from the front. His no-shot approach just invites the fielding side to get into an attacking frame of mind and it just becomes a matter of time before they show him the exit door. He has a heavy bat and he must use it. His pads have done enough work in Nagpur.

There is no time to ponder for India. Losing is not an option. Even a draw is not. Forget Nagpur. Go to Eden Gardens and win.