Preview: Tough road ahead for India against the Proteas

"We know that this will be an extremely hard series. What has helped us on this tour is that we have played really good cricket. However, we understand that Tests are going to be the hardest challenge’’.

When a star batsman of the No. 1 ranked Test side in the world makes such cautious comments, you realize that the player and his team have come well prepared with their blueprint and ammunitions for a 72 day long tour.
And when the team and the batsman concerned in this instance happen to be South Africa and Faf du Plessis respectively, your moment of realization swerves to become a state of bemusement like one of Roberto Carlos’ trademark banana free kicks.

Mind games; seem to be edging out the presupposed on-field action which is set to resume on Thursday at the PCA stadium in Mohali after an eleven day break post the conclusion of the 5 match ODI series.

The visitors who have looked more like the home team during the course of the T20I and ODI series’ have been outclassing their Indian counterparts in all departments on more occasions than not. After drubbing the hosts 2-0 in the 3 match T20I series (the Kolkata T20I was abandoned due to ‘unfitting’ playing conditions), the Proteas further strengthened their hopes of conquering the ‘final frontier’ by beating India 3-2 in the 5 match ODI series.

Even though, the format has undergone a change and so have the Captains in both camps, momentum and morale are inclining more in the visitor’s favour. This will be the first time Team India will be playing a full-fledged Test series at home without the services of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The ‘young Indian brigade’ led by Test skipper Virat Kohli will have an uphill task to escape the brunt of incessant losses in international cricket and will need to chalk out plans to return to winning ways.
As many as 10 South African Test teams have toured India in the past, but none has looked as dominating as this one. Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis and Hansie Cronje are some of the players who made their presence felt in the earlier series’, but the likes of AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis have put the Indians in a ring of fire like never before. Majority of the current crop of players possess potent technique and come with competent spin handling prowess. Yet, they appear circumspect about the forte of their rivals. Ravichandran Ashwin who has acquired full fitness and returned from a short injury lay off is expected to put up a solid performance against the visitors. The Proteas seem to be wary of Ashwin despite having fared well against the spin trio of Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel in the recently concluded One Day series.

‘’Ashwin is our main threat, but we’ll plan really well. The way we play Ashwin in this series will definitely determine our success in the series’’, du Plessis told reporters at a Press Conference in Mohali on Monday.
The first of the 4 match Test series in Mohali has potentially become a test of character for Kohli and Co. given the kind of debacles the team has faced in recent times. That said; India’s progress in Test cricket hasn’t been an unsatisfactory one as the Kohli led side registered a 2-1 Test series victory on Sri Lankan only 2 months ago. But a resurgent Sri Lankan side and a resilient South African side are two completely different propositions and the Indian think tank should be well aware about that. The Indian think tank though is putting more effort in developing an explicit idea about the behaviour of the wickets on which the games are to be played. After getting into a presumed rift with MCA curator Sudhir Naik at the end of the South African innings at the Wankhede Stadium, Indian Team director Ravi Shastri said he was yet to have a look at the pitch at the PCA Stadium. His associate and India’s bowling mentor Bharath Arun had an animated conversation with PCA chief curator Daljit Singh pertaining to the nature of the wicket. Despite the fact that Shastri’s possible squabble with Naik created a stir in the Indian cricket circuit, the former Indian captain continues to be a firm advocate of the concept of ‘home advantage’.

‘’I believe at home you need to play to your strength. There’s no need to hide it. Spin has been happening over the years and I don’t know why it’s being made a big issue. What happened at Wankhede is history. I don’t have a word to add or subtract’’, said 53 year old Shastri who was permitted to throw a glance at the Mohali wicket yesterday.

However, PCA chief curator Daljit Singh refused to give away anything about the ‘uncertain Mohali pitch.

Coming back to serious cricket; the inclusion of Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to bolster India’s chances in the Test series. Vijay has been in sublime form of late and the Tamil Nadu opener’s batting prowess at the top of the order is anticipated to play a vital role against the pace trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan needs to rediscover his lost touch. He displayed terrible form in the limited over fixtures gone by. He managed to score a meagre tally of 126 runs at an average of 25.20 and with the highest score of 60 in the recently finished Paytm ODI series. Still, Dhawan has had a good run in Test matches in the past 6 months or so with scores of 173 and 134 to his name during that period. He should try and draw inspiration from footages depicting his first Test century (187) which he made on his debut at this very stadium. His opening partnership with Vijay will be crucial in determining the complexion of the games for the reason that the onus will lie on their shoulders to negate the new ball and see the first session through for the side, more so if India is batting first. The conundrum of finding the most suitable candidate for the no. 3 spot is back to haunt Virat Kohli and the team management with three contenders pushing for the spot. Ajinkya Rahane, who notched up a string of eloquent knocks in the ODI series, is likely to bat one down in Mohali as his fluent century (126) in the second innings of the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at the P. Sara Oval and helped him cement his place at that position. Rohit Sharma is also expected to be backed by the selectors for a place in the side and the elegant right hander from Mumbai will bat at No. 5 in Mohali. Virat Kohli, who exhibited decent form in the Test series in Sri Lanka is an automatic choice for No. 4 and the middle order mainstay will face the toughest challenge of his Test regime on home soil against the pace bowling troops of the Proteas. Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja are estimated to follow suit and fill the other 2 vacant spots in the Indian Test side. KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara are unlikely to make it to the team for the first Test despite both registering centuries to their credit in Sri Lanka. Comeback man Ravindra Jadeja was drafted into the Test side following his ‘otherworldly’ exploits in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16. The spin bowling all-rounder scalped 38 wickets for Saurashtra at an average of 10.55 and strengthened his case of forcing a re-entry in the national side. He also scored 3 fifties at crucial junctures for Saurashtra in the on-going edition of the Ranji Trophy. Jadeja played his last Test against England over a year back and lost his way following a horrible run in white uniform after that series. There are indications that India may go in with 3 spinners and if that happens, Jadeja could turn out to be the ‘cog in the wheel’ for Captain Kohli in the all-important Test series. Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked up 21 Test wickets on Sri Lankan soil two months ago, will resume his duty of spearheading the Indian spin attack at the PCA stadium. The off-spinner has been in phenomenal form since revamping himself last year and has proved to be an asset for India in the sub-continent. He will be aided by leg spinner Amit Mishra from the other end who too demonstrated impressive form in the Emerald Isles by scalping 15 wickets and scoring 157 runs in the 3 match Test series. He aims to prove a point or two at Mohali after being summoned by the Bangalore Police for allegedly assaulting a woman in his hotel room, which is contradictory to ICC’s anti-corruption rules. Ishant Sharma will be unavailable in the first Test because of a one match ban imposed on him by the ICC following his heated exchange with the Sri Lankans in the 3rd Test at the Colombo SSC. Virat Kohli’s fondness for pace and aggression is likely to back Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron’s selection in the side. Varun Aaron, who plays alongside Kohli for RCB feels that time, has come for him to repose the faith shown on him by his Captain in his inconsistent international career. Hopefully, he stands by what he says once the match gets underway in Mohali tomorrow.

For South Africa, the Test series brings with it a challenging scenario as the visitors too boast of a transitory side in the longest format. Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl will begin the proceedings for the Proteas and will be followed by the likes of Test skipper Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy at No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Van Zyl has been playing First Class Cricket for 9 years and the Cape Cobras batsman promises to deliver an effective punch in what will be his third assignment as an international player after having scored a century on debut against West Indies in Pretoria last year. 
Like Dhawan, Amla is due for a big score and before passing any verdict on him, it becomes imperative for us to take a look at his exploits the last time he played a Test series in India in 2010. Quinton de Kock’s absence from the Test squad may serve a breath of fresh air for India as the left handed wicket keeper batsman was in stupendous form in the Paytm ODI series. He is likely to be swapped for Cape Cobras wicket-keeper Dane Vilas, who has been knocking on the selectors’ doors since 2010.  If South African coach Russell Domingo decides to field three fast bowlers, the trinity of Steyn, Morkel and Philander are anticipated to be seen in Mohali in spite of young Kagiso Rabada’s spirited outing in the Indian tour so far Steyn is known to be India’s tormentor and the lynchpin of the South African bowling unit is projected to arouse fear in the minds of the young Indian batsmen. The 32 year old pace-man from Phalaborwa comprises a splendid track record on Indian soil with 44 wickets in 14 matches to his name across all formats in Indian conditions. Imran Tahir is an automatic choice for the spinner’s slot. But, if the Proteas choose to go in with 2 spinners in Mohali, off-spinner Dane Piedt might get the nod ahead of Warriors all-rounder Simon Harmer for the second spinner’s slot. India stand 5th on the ICC Test rankings at the moment and if they manage to defeat the Proteas by a margin of 4-0 in the upcoming series, they will climb to the second spot in the ICC Test rankings. The Mohali track is renowned for generating sheer pace and springy bounce and over the years, has acquired the status of being the sharpest wicket in Indian conditions. The PCA stadium in Mohali has hosted 11 Tests till date and teams batting first have won 2 matches at this venue as compared to the 4 games won by teams batting second on this wicket. The ground has yielded results on 6 occasions and accounts for 5 drawn games. It is predicted that the PCA pitch isn’t a typical green track this time around and might tend to assist the spinners from the very beginning of the game. The last time India played a Test at this venue, the spin trio of Ashwin (4), Jadeja (6) and Pragyan Ojha (4) shared 14 of the 20 Australian wickets among themselves. If that gets repeated yet again, the hosts may finally get an opportunity to salvage lost pride. Pride; the ‘home’ side is desperately looking for this one significant attribute in the midst of the numerous non cricketing affairs surrounding what should have been a tranquil Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela cricket series.

Article written by Ritam Basu.