India look for first Test win in SA

An underprepared India will be looking for their first Test victory in South Africa when they taken on the hosts in the first Test of the three-Test series in Bloemfontein from Saturday.

On two previous visits to the country, India lost three of the seven matches they played and were, in fact, even thrashed at home last year, with the South Africans winning both the Tests of the series.

The head-to-head record between the two countries is heavily tilted in favour of the South Africans, who have won six and lost two of the 12 matches played.

Yet, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is quite hopeful of his team making a match out of it. He said his team will be going into the match with a positive frame of mind and is quite capable of springing a few surprises.

This, despite the fact the Indians have had the worst possible preparation coming into the Test series. They suffered their ninth consecutive defeat in a final when they lost to the hosts in the title-clash of the triangular one-day series last week.

Then, they watched in frustration as the only practice game ahead of the Test -- a three-day match against South Africa 'A' in Chatsworth, Durban, -- was washed out.

To top it all, vice-captain and batting mainstay Rahul Dravid is harbouring a shoulder injury. Thouth he is likely to play in the first Test, the news of his shoulder problem sent shockwaves in the Indian camp.

However, it is easy to see the reason for Ganguly's optimism. It obviously stems from a strong batting order, with most of the batsmen in good nick though their failure to click as a unit has been a problem.

Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly himself have been among the top run-scorers in the one-day series. The Indian batsmen have shown no signs of their perceived weakness on the fast and bouncy pitches with Ganguly himself leading the charge against the South African speedsters. So much so that the home team was reportedly worried about the lack of variety in its bowling attack.

Ganguly is also expecting a lot from the two left-arm seamers -- Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan -- who joined the squad for the Test series. South Africa haven't faced this variant of pace attack in recent times and both Nehra and Zaheer are expected to pose some problems to the home batsmen.

Then, there is the spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh who together form a match-winning combination. The two have already troubled the South Africans in the one-dayers and should be an even greater force in the Tests.

However, there are major worries too, the foremost being the opening slot, where Connor Williams is likely to make his Test debut. With the Chatsworth game having been abandoned, Williams will be going into the match without facing a single ball in the middle on South African tracks. The other opener Shiv Sunder Das, though having proved himself earlier, failed to click in the one-dayers and it remains to be seen how he copes on pitches which are in stark contrast to what he has batted on till now.

It wasn't surprising then that there was talk of sending Dravid as an opener and keeping Williams out.

In fact, Williams's place is under threat from another quarter too. The team management is still to decide on the final team composition, the point of contention being whether to go in with four bowlers or five.

Coach John Wright is said to be keen to include five bowlers and Ganguly too is reported not averse to the idea but that would jeopardise the delicate balance of the team. It would also mean that Williams sits out and Dravid opens the innings. With less than a day left, it is likely that the Indians will revert to the conservative idea of going in with four bowlers.

But here, too, the choice is not clear. Looking at the green pitch, the Indians will be tempted to include three seamers. That would mean leaving out either Kumble or Harbhajan, a difficult proposition indeed, considering the form they have displayed on the tour. Perhaps, the idea of playing it safe - playing with both the spinners - is gaining ground.

The South Africans, in contrast, have no such worries, blessed as they are with a number of quality all-rounders. Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje are all excellent performers both with the bat and ball, and are all in fine touch.

Openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs are also in terrific form and the brilliant performance of young Boeta Dippenaar in his short Test career has made the South Africans spoilt for choice.

The home team is most likely to go in with a five-pronged pace attack to extract the maximum out of the pitch, which has come in for a lot of criticism from South Africa coach Graham Ford, who said it has not been prepared keeping the hosts' interests in mind.

However, chief groundsman of the Goodyear Park, Nico Pretorius has allayed such fears and even expressed the hope that Mornantu Hayward would be able to record the fastest ball of the year on the pitch.

The South Africans have deliberately kept Hayward away from the Indians, and are banking on this Eastern Province speedster to make up for the absence of veteran Allan Donald and the fiery Mfunenko Ngam, both of whom have pulled out of the series because of injuries.

The teams (from):
India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Connor Williams, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Sameer Dighe, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Deep Dasgupta, Virender Sehwag, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad.

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (capt), Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippennaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Mornantau Hayward, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Gary Kirsten, Charl Langeveldt, Neil McKenzie and Makhaya Ntini.

India's tour of South Africa : Complete coverage

Mail Cricket Editor