Sachin Tendulkar at the Eden on Wednesday

Calcutta: The focus shifted from Eden Gardens to the Taj on Wednesday evening. The hearing, the fallout of a glaring umpiring error by Daryl Harper, may have kept Sourav Ganguly busy but he is unlikely to be affected by the intense off-the-field activities.

The hunger of a series win has kept him going and the South Africans will have to contend with Indians? renewed vigour and desire. Their riposte has not been very encouraging so far and Jacques Kallis? ?rebirth? does not guarantee a favourable finish.

A positive attitude, though, will keep the South Africans hoping against hope that things fall into place on the final day of this two-Test series. They are ahead by 66 runs and unless the remaining five batsmen can pull off a coup of sorts, Graeme Smith will have to contend with another series defeat.

The dramatic change in the body-language of the Indians will keep the visitors under pressure. It will be a test of character for the South African youngsters for many of whom the transformation from a boy to a man may not yet have been complete.

The South Africans will owe a lot to Harper. Luck, too, played its part. The Australian umpire turned down Harbhajan Singh?s appeal for a bat-pad catch at forward short leg by Gautam Gambhir. Kallis was then on two. TV replays confirmed it was a legitimate shout and the Indians made their displeasure known.

A few more close decisions were also negated by both the umpires. With the Indian spinning duo making full use of the rough on both sides of the wicket, the umpires had some tough times.

Test matches are sometimes won and lost by a single decision. In this age of commercialisation, an umpire can make or break a player?s career. While a player is often punished for dissent, an umpire always gets the benefit of doubt.

The system of awarding points to the umpires by the captains is hardly a yardstick to measure performance. The ICC needs to take a fresh look at the process under which the umpires are evaluated.

Sourav?s acumen played a huge part in the Indians? success. Having managed a 106-run lead, mainly due to the 58-run seventh wicket stand between Dinesh Karthik and Irfan Pathan, he was quick to get Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble firing after the pacers proved ineffective.

To intensify the pressure, the captain positioned himself at silly point and after tea also got Rahul Dravid to stand at forward short leg. Kumble and Harbhajan bowled unchanged for 26 and 22 overs, respectively, and the leg-spinner was unlucky to finish the day with only one wicket.

Arrangements are complete to celebrate Kumble equalling the magical 434 mark here and the CAB is only hoping that this will be the perfect icing on the cake in the event of an Indian victory.

The bounce and turn the spinning duo extracted made it tough for the batsmen. The disciplined and probing line was hard to contend with. There were a few dropped chances and once Smith survived another confident shout for a catch at slip.

As Kumble kept the pressure from one end, Harbhajan (four for 58) reaped the benefits. The floodgates opened once the ball came off Andrew Hall?s gloves while attempting the sweep. For youngsters like Jacques Rudolph, Hashim Amla (victim of a debatable decision) and Boeta Dippenaar, the pressure of playing in such a charged atmosphere proved too much.

V.V.S. Laxman took a brilliant one-handed high catch to his left to dismiss Smith who threatened to play spoilsport. Kallis has looked solid following the ?let-off? and it will take another Herculean effort to push the Indians back. The excitement in the latter half mismatched a boring morning session whereby the Indians slowly pushed for the runs. Karthik missed his maiden half-century, but that was enough to ensure him a berth in Dhaka side despite a not-too-impressive showing behind the stumps.

With no quality spinner available in the visiting side, the Indians should find chasing not much of a problem. Time, though, will be a factor in the event of an extended South African challenge in the morning session.