When you're about to play a Test match on an Indian pitch, the question to ask the curator isn't if it will turn but when . Spin, at most venues, is a given.

This is probably true of Eden Gardens too, where both India and South Africa are likely to line up with three-spinner attacks during the first Test that starts on Friday.

But from all pre-match indications, and the even, straw-coloured look it wore two days before the match, this Kolkata pitch looks like one that will only really start turning on day three or thereabouts, and possibly later given the mild weather the city is experiencing. All signs point to a classic Eden Gardens surface with the potential for big first-innings totals, which will mean a lot of work not just for the spinners but the fast bowlers too.

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