They say that Kerala is God's Own Country, and the pitch at Kochi's Nehru Stadium is entirely in character with the hype - but only if you're a batsman. If you've been through a lean trot with the willow, this is the place to come for rejuvenation. And if you still can't score runs, pack your kitbag and jump in the sea. As for the bowlers, they'll have visions of cool drinks and feet lapping the gentle waves in the backwaters even as the batsmen flay them all around the park. It's really that simple at Kochi – Paradise Regained for batsmen, Welcome to Hell for bowlers. To be honest, not much different from the track used at Mohali, supposedly India's fairest.

It would be an understatement to say that the Indian batsmen had a ball in the last game. The big guns fired away with a vengeance, and local-boy-done-good Dinesh Mongia chipped in with three priceless wickets just as Zimbabwe were threatening to make a match of it. Mongia has, in the space of a few short weeks, made himself a front-runner for a place in the World Cup squad and his bowling – pretty harmless twists of the wrist – could also have a vital role to play at Kochi.

Sachin Tendulkar decimated Australia here four years ago with his well-spun assortments, and Rahul Dravid, no less, was the pick of the bowlers when India beat South Africa in 2000. Therein lies a cautionary tale for batsmen. This is no pitch at all for the medium-pacers. The quicker the ball comes on to the bat, the faster it disappears to the rope. The same goes for the slow bowlers that push it though quickly. Anil Kumble is unlikely to get much joy here, though Harbhajan Singh could throw the batsmen for a loop if he gives the ball some.

The outfield is excellent and batsmen will get full value for the strokes they play. Last time India played here, Herschelle Gibbs and Ajay Jadeja treated the crowds to some mighty hitting. With Sourav Ganguly, Mongia, Dravid, Alistair Campbell and Travis Friend in fine form – not to mention a certain Andy Flower – the spectators can expect similar fireworks four weeks ahead of their New Year celebrations.

India are likely to make just the one change. Local hero Tinu Yohannan should get a game, with Sanjay Bangar dropping to the bench. Bangar bowled well at Faridabad, but was tonked around in the second match. With the bat, he has done absolutely nothing to justify his allrounder tag. Yohannan bowled particularly well to the left-handers when he played England, and it will be interesting to see how he copes with Andy Flower and Campbell.

Zimbabwe won't press the panic button either, having fought India toe-to-toe in the two games. As Stuart Carlisle pointed out at the press conference, only some indisciplined bowling cost them at Mohali. Doug Marillier showed at Faridabad, as Andy Flower has done umpteen times, that India can be rattled by innovation. It will boil down to which set of bowlers is better at damage control. Something tells you that it will be India's.

Teams
India (probable): 1 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 2 Dinesh Mongia, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Ajit Agarkar, 7 Ajay Ratra (wk), 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Tinu Yohannan.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Alistair Campbell, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Travis Friend, 4 Andy Flower, 5 Grant Flower, 6 Stuart Carlisle (capt), 7 Craig Wishart, 8 Doug Marillier, 9 Heath Streak, 10 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 11 Gary Brent.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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