Vadodara, March 16 :     The hope kindled in Kochi and kept alive in Jamshedpur received a blow of sorts in Faridabad yesterday. The question now is, will Vadodara be the place where Indian cricket, humiliated in Australia and at home in the Test matches, make a fresh start tomorrow? If Sourav Ganguly's team beats South Africa at the IPCL Stadium here, not only will they take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match Pepsi series, they will also prove that Indian cricket is still alive and kicking. It will not just be a series win against a clinically professional outfit, who play their cricket with minimum fuss and error, it will also rejuvenate a team that was well and truly down for the counts till very recently. Not many, perhaps not even the South Africans, had given India a chance after a clean sweep of the Test matches and rattling up 301 in the first one-dayer. But, for once, India performed as a team and snatched what is likely to enter the record books as a memorbale win if not a great one. The new skipper led from the front to make it 2-0 in Jamshedpur before Hansie Cronje's men ensured their skipper's enviable record of not losing three one-dayers in succession remained intact. By the look of it, the IPCL Stadium pitch promises to be an exciting one-day wicket, with a hint of dead grass that was undergoing bladework late this afternoon. The outfield is remarkably smooth and green and with curator Aunshuman Gaekwad predicting that bounce will be even, anything timed properly won't take long to race to the fence. But the former national coach also predicted some turn which obviously didn't please Cronje and Co. who practised at Kiran More's Alembic Sports Academy ground rather than at the venue. The South African skipper dropped in for a little while to have a look at the pitch and didn't seem amused by what he saw before walking off in what seemed was dismay. While Cronje wasn't available for his comments on the wicket, coach Graham Ford had no doubt that it was 'meant for the home team'. 'We had a good one-day wicket in Kochi and a terrible one in Jamshedpur. The one at Faridabad was okay but this one is likely to aid the Indian spinners,' Ford said. The Indian skipper chose be remain diplomatic, saying it's a good one-day wicket which is likely to produce 'some good cricket' and predictably added that 'this is a crucial match'. Though he didn't commit himself, it seems as if he would prefer setting a target here, expecting the spinners to do the job under a merciless afternoon sun. But to do that he will certainly need soemthing in the region of 260-270 and the man who could have made it a certainty, is having a poor run. Sachin Tendulkar may have given up captaincy to concentrate on batting, but with an uncharacteristic tally of 59 from three innings, the 'Little Master' is yet to do justice to what he does better than most - score, in hundreds and fifties. He chose to do a bit of knocking even as the team avoided batting and bowling practice and did some stretching and catching. Tomorrow may be the day of his return to form and that will surely minimise the national concern. Ajay Jadeja, meanwhile, has slight fever but is expected to play tomorrow. The trio of Jawagal Srinath, Syed Saba Karim and S. Sriram were expected later in the evening. Cronje said he doesn't want to disturb the winning combination and Moranantau Hayward and Henry Williams are yet to be hundred per cent fit. But the temptation to field off-spinner Derek Crookes in place of either Dale Benkenstien or Peiter Strydom may be difficult to resist. Cronje informed that Lance Klusener, who didn't bowl in the first two games and did so for just two overs in Faridabad, is fit to bowl now. Cronje, whose team faced some resistance early in the first Test and encountered nothing like that in the second, is aware of the fact that the Indians look a diferent lot now. 'This is the most difficult stage of the tour and this South African one-day team hasn't been together for long. Somehow, we have lost the momentum that helped us pocket the Test series,' Cronje said. He did say the absence of Alan Donald is being felt but added that those in form should take the team through in the last two matches. Talking about that, the skipper certainly is in fine nick as is Gary Kirsten, but the sudden disappearance of the monstrous blows from Klusener must be worrying the skipper.