Call it playing the mind games or rare bluntness in international sport, Mark Boucher [Images] provided plenty of meat to chew on for the media on the eve of the final one-day international of the series.

For starters, he pressed the raw nerve of Indian cricket: Sourav Ganguly [Images].

Mixed reactions have trailed the team ever since they dropped their talismanic skipper of the past five years. The South African team, Boucher said, was surprised that Ganguly was not playing in the series.

Also Read Kolkata hostility unfortunate: Dravid

"It came as a surprise to us," said the South African wicketkeeper, substituting for Graeme Smith [Images] in the pre-match press conference in Mumbai on Sunday.

"Of course we are glad that we don't have to bowl to him anymore. Our bowlers are happy bowling to these batters than they would've been bowling against Ganguly. A couple of our players are wondering why he isn't in the side and it's a bit strange to us."

What's more, the whole controversy surrounding the Kolkata prince is giving South Africa [Images] the edge, if Boucher is to be believed.

"Whenever a side's losing there will be cracks that will open up. The big crack of Sourav Ganguly has opened up in the last few weeks. I think it didn't really open up when you played Sri Lanka [Images] because not many cracks open up when a side is winning.

"We've put India under pressure, the Sourav Ganguly issue has reared its head. Trust me, we will try and use it to our advantage."

The South African said that the performance of the Indian youngsters would also be crucial in the Mumbai game.

"They were winning everything during the Sri Lanka series. But it will be interesting to see how the youngsters respond under this kind of pressure, with the team down 1-2."

Boucher, who was a part of the team that beat India 2-0 in Tests in 2000 to break India's unbeaten record at home, said Monday will be a big occasion for the team as they would be looking for their first ODI-series win in India.

"The guys are up for a big challenge tomorrow. I am sure it is going to be a pressure-cooker situation. We treat every game as a final, and this one's going to be no different."

Commenting on the reports following India's 10-wicket drubbing in Kolkata in the fourth ODI, Boucher said that the wicket was not as bouncy as it was made out to be.

"Some people were comparing it with Kingsmead (Durban). Those people need to visit Kingsmead again; the bounce in Kolkata was nothing as compared to Durban."

And it is amazing yet, that while fending off South Africa's victory in Kolkata as justified, Boucher chose to criticize the conditions in Bangalore for the second ODI, where the tourists lost by six wickets.

"It was virtually played on two different pitches. The wicket was very slow to bat on when we played first and then it got a lot easier. We knew there would be dew in the day-night games, but the dew-factor has proved to be a very big factor.

"All we think is that teams need to play in even conditions."

To that, we have just three words: 2003 World Cup.