Kolkotta gets a match after all !

SA take on IRE in a match at Calcutta. It is a must win game for IRE !

SA, riding high after the India win, believes in momentum and will be hard to beat.

Eden Gardens will be under close scrutiny, as the ENG IND game was changed to Bangalore. That match was the best in this WC.

Kallis had said that it is a privilege to play before Eden Garden's 100,000 crowd. SA naturally want to peak before this capacity crowd, whose numbers are only matched by the Melbourne Cricket Ground !

So Kolkotta makes its belated entry. Kolkotta is the Mecca of Cricket. It seems that the world capital of cricket is Mumbai, where the finals will be played. The Wankhede Stadium, with a 375 cr renovation, is ready for that mega event !

The 80 cr renovation of Eden Gardens was the cause of the match being shifted to Bangalore. ICC ruled that the renovation had not ended and that work was still going on. CA Bengal objected to this ruling !

Greame Smith welcomed the chance for SA to play against Ind, IRE and BD within the space of seven days, after a slow start, when the team had week long holidays and lost to England !

The "chokers" tag still haunt South Africa like an old family resident spectre.

"The good thing for us now is that we play a couple of games close together before the quarterfinals." Smith said. "We've got an opportunity now with a game every three or four days to really build up some momentum which is something that is important for us.It's also time for South Africa to tackle its reputation as World Cup failures head-on" said the formidable SA captain.

"To be honest, there's no point in us in trying to hide from the perception (of failing at World Cups" said the master batsman. "Our past is our past and we can't hide from it.

"We haven't won a World Cup, so there's no point in us hiding away from it. We have the opportunity to be the crop of players to change that perception and hopefully we do."

But Porterfield, the Irish skipper, pointed out that anything can happen in 300 balls !

"Four years ago, no one gave us a chance playing Pakistan " captain Porterfield said. "Obviously, we have got to go and play South Africa and South Africa are one of the favourites.

"(But) We've been playing some good cricket, so there's no reason why we can't go out there and leave everything on the pitch. We've got to go out there and play with freedom and come hard at them and you never know from there. Nothing's impossible in a game of 50-over cricket."

The SA born Irish all-rounder Andre Botha affirmed Porterfield's sentiments.

Botha said that it is imperative that IRE win both matches to progress.

"Now we have to win; we might just play with a bit more freedom like we used to," Botha said. "I think winning for us means we can probably go out with a bit more freedom and give it everything we've got without the extra pressures behind it."