``We are going into the game knowing we have to win, and we will do whatever we have to in order to get a positive result,'' Tendulkar said, speaking from his hotel room.
Neither the captain, nor coach Madan Lal, were however prepared to discuss the elements of their gameplan, or even speculate on the nature of the eleven that would be fielded for the crucial game. ``We will decide the final eleven only tomorrow morning,'' Sachin said, adding that the team's composition will depend entirely on the nature of the wicket.
If that is the case, then India could well take the field with three spinners - the Green Park wicket, contrary to its normal batsman-friendly nature, appears hard on the surface but with a perceptible soft inner core, thanks to profuse watering over the last few days.
``This one should be a turner,'' said South African coach Bob Woolmer - an assessment captain Hansie Cronje acknowledged with a wry grin. ``But we knew that such a wicket was on the cards, we are prepared for it,'' Woolmer added.
Like the Tendulkar-Lal combine, Cronje and Woolmer were also reluctant to speculate on the final eleven, though it is pretty evident that Fanie De Villiers, who was dropped for the Calcutta Test, will return to spearhead the bowling in the absence of Allan Donald, who has flown back home to get treatment for a heel injury. Likewise, free scoring batsman Herschelle Gibbs, who after a rather lacklustre debut at Calcutta struck form in the following one day game against an India A team in course of which he followed up an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with a 171 in the second, is almost certain to remain in the number three slot, probably at the expense of Jonty Rhodes who missed the Calcutta Test through a hamstring injury.
For India, Kanpur could well see yet another opening batsman latest in a long and mostly undistinguished roster that has done duty for the country this year. South Zone and Tamil Nadu skipper W V Raman was included in the squad for Kanpur because chief selector Ramakant Desai felt that India needed a ``genuine opener'', and indications as of now are that the southpaw will play in the final eleven.
Interestingly, Tendulkar did admit that he had finalised his 12 with David Johnson and Narendra Hirwani the odd men out.
The 12 for tomorrow, then, reads Sachin Tendulkar, W V Raman, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman, Mohammad Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi and Aashish Kapoor.
Given that India will most definitely play all three spinners in view of the nature of the track, the odd man out is likely to be a batsman - and ergo, the choice falls automatically on either Ganguly or Laxman, both of whom were at less than par in Calcutta.
And following that logical thought to its conclusion, chances are that Laxman will find himself bringing out the drinks, with Tendulkar opting to open with Raman and possibly Dravid, with Ganguly in at number three, followed by Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Mongia, Joshi, Kapoor, Kumble, Srinath and Prasad.
All this is, of course, pure speculation. For all anyone knows and given the performance of the Indian think tank, this option is even more likely - India might well opt to go with Mongia as Raman's partner, resting Ganguly and retaining Laxman in the side.
In either event, the key to the whole equation will lie with the bowlers - for India, the Kumble-Srinath-Prasad axis will bear the wicket-taking onus with Joshi and Kapoor playing supporting roles, while for South Africa, the key could rest not so much in the spinning fingers of Symcox and Adams, but in the ability of Fanie De Villiers to extract swing and seam movement on the Green Park wicket.
In either eventuality, it's a pretty safe bet to make one prediction - the captain who wins the toss will have no hesitation in batting first. And he will do so with the knowledge that winning the toss, on the Kanpur wicket where the ball is not likely to come on to the bat and facilitate strokeplay, is half the battle won right there.