Nottingham: Can skipper MS Dhoni motivate his men when India take on South Africa in a rather meaningless Super 8 clash at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

India, courtesy their twin losses to West Indies and England, have already been knocked out of the competition. They have nothing but pride to play for.

The team even cancelled its pre-game training session, scheduled for Lady Bay at three in the afternoon. Instead, they chose to stay back in London for a few more hours and were expected to arrive in Trent Bridge only by Monday evening.

South Africa have already qualified for the semifinals. Their motivation is to finish Group E on top and stay on in Trent Bridge for the semifinals on June 18, where they will face the second-placed team in Group F.

For India, though, this is a chance now to play sans inhibitions. They will be tested by the South African pacers Andre Nel, Jacques Kallis and Wayne Parnel and it's a good guess whether they will bowl short or dish out half-volleys.

India can leave the tournament with their heads held high if they manage to beat the title favourites. While fans back home will still be angry over their loss to England, a convincing win will help the team soothe some of the wounds.

India have enjoyed a good run against SA in T20 cricket. They have met two times and have come up trumps on both occassions. Dinesh Karthik was the star of the match in Johannesburg in 2006, when India won by six wickets.

In Durban during the 2007 World T20, it was Rohit Sharma who dazzled to help India win by 37 runs and enter the semis.

South Africa will remember that defeat well, as it put them out of the competition on their home turf. Expect them to
come out all guns blazing.

Match fact
Tuesday June 16, 2009 (day/night)
Start time: 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT