A mouth-watering prospect

Published in www.cricketnext.com

Team India go into the Test series against South Africa with no pretensions about being favourites despite being the number 1 ranked Test team in the world. The Indians have won just a single match out of 12 Tests that they have played in the Rainbow nation till today and the players would be feeling more nervous than before any series in the recent past.

India has been on song for the last few years, demolishing all form of opposition in the 5 day format. The fact that they have played most of their matches in familiar conditions has helped them greatly. However, it is no coincidence that this Indian team is out-doing all its predecessors handsomely and they certainly have the ability to win abroad.

Their batting line up is more formidable than any in the past, with the world’s best middle order- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman- all in superb form. Add to this list the dazzling talents of Virender Sehwag and the gritty batting ability of Gautam Gambhir and one gets a fair idea of why India has been piling up the runs in recent years.

The number 6 slot is a bit shaky at the moment, with Suresh Raina having had a terrible series against the Kiwis at home. Cheteshwar Pujara has been knocking loudly at the door of the selectors and impressed against the Australians in his debut Test. He may well be thrown into the cauldron instead of Raina to fend off the South African quicks at some stage in this series. Skipper MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh would have to contribute useful runs too if India are to post imposing scores on the board. That India has crossed 300 at least once in each of its last 24 Test matches is a golden run that they would not want to break.

Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe appear to be a more formidable pace bowling combination than do the half-fit Zaheer Khan, the mercurial Sreeshanth and the still-raw Ishant Sharma. The Indian trio are capable of springing some surprises though, and if offie Harbhajan can hold his own on pitches that would not really suit him, India can make a series of this. Zaheer Khan’s fitness or the lack of it could be the clincher here.

The South African batting line up looks almost as impressive as the Indian one, and that is an achievement in itself! Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers are all world class performers and would be eager to propel South Africa to a comprehensive series win so that their team can topple the Indians from the top of the ICC rankings table by the end of this summit clash.

Individual performances would be watched closely. Tendulkar and Kallis would renew their personal rivalry, with the former way ahead of the latter in the run charts and due for his 50th Test century, an awe inspiring feat by all standards. Sehwag’s batting has never suffered in alien conditions if he’s in the mood. His ability to score quickly and to take away the game from the opponents would be another key to the outcome of the series.

Dhoni’s captaincy will be tested severely, especially when batsmen like Amla and De Villiers are in full flow. He and the rest of the Indian team would be under pressure to the hilt but have it in them to come out trumps in this most exciting encounter, which even promises to upstage the Ashes with some superior cricket skills likely to be on display!