Immovable object, meet unstoppable force
Something, you feel, has to give when two of the game’s most formidable records clash. South Africa have not lost a Test series away from home in nine years. Nine years. In today’s home-friendly age, that is a record that boggles the mind.
On the other hand, India have lost just a solitary Test series in India since November 2004. They have won 12 of the 17, drawn four and lost to England in 2012/13. Even South Africa have not beaten them in India since 2000, though India have not played a home Test for two years now.
Thankfully, then, we are in the unusual position of having to thank the administrators for scheduling a four-Test series, and not the abomination that has seen two of their past three series reduced to just two Tests.
Captain calm
It is fair to say Hashim Amla loves playing in India, or at least batting there. Over three tours and six Tests, he averages over 100, has four centuries and not far from 1,000 runs.
Now, however, one of cricket’s most unruffled men comes to India as leader and not just a batsman. Whereas before Amla operated quietly away from the spotlight, now that he is captain, the scrutiny will be intense. For a man happy to not be under that spotlight, it will be a challenge.
Not that it is likely to frazzle him, so Zen-like is he. But it is worth keeping an eye on his form. He has had just three Test innings all year, but his ODI form since the World Cup has been lean.
Step up Ashwin
It is not quite accurate to say that Ravichandran Ashwin has come of age over the past year. He has, after all, been a potent force for India in all formats for the best part of five years.
But it is fair to think that over the past 12 months (38 wickets in seven Tests), as India move into a new era, Ashwin has stepped up his game just when his side has needed him to. He was instrumental in the series win in Sri Lanka this summer and at home, it is difficult to recall a Test in which he has made no impact.
So important has he become that India looked a different side without him in losing the ODI series to South Africa. He has recovered in time for the Tests, which leaves the contest hanging perfectly in the balance.
Bunsen burner turner
Modern India groundsmen have not generally been accommodating to the wishes of home captains.
The common complaint in MS Dhoni’s tenure as Test captain was that he did not get tracks that turned enough from Day 1, although it is worth noting that no home captain is ever truly satisfied with the surfaces he gets.
As recently as the final ODI between the two teams, in Mumbai, India’s coach Ravi Shastri is alleged to have abused the curator for a surface on which India’s bowlers conceded 438. But, if chatter before the series is anything to go by, it seems the message has come through.
Mohali, venue for the first Test, has historically been a true, quick surface and with good bounce. That has changed in recent years and Faf du Plessis said it was drier than most pitches he had seen even a few days out of the Test. It will likely turn early and even likelier that most of the surfaces thereafter will as well.
Pace race
For all that spin will play a part in the series, pace will have its say. It is almost a given, as South Africa are not flush with spinning options.
Imran Tahir may be in the running, but given his Test record it is difficult to see him making an impact.
So much will fall upon Dale Steyn, who, luckily for South Africa, not only happens to be the best fast bowler in the world but also a genius in Asian conditions. He is the leading wicket-taker as an overseas fast bowler in Asia, with 90 wickets in 19 Tests, ahead of men such as Malcolm Marshall and Glenn McGrath. Those have included a couple of mind-bending spells in India itself.
And though he will miss the first Test, Ishant Sharma will be vital to India’s fortunes. So many Indian pacers have come and disappeared over the past decade, it is to Ishant’s credit that he is at least still around. And, as he showed in Sri Lanka, still capable of incisiveness.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
