Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday warned his teammates not to take the inexperienced South Africans lightly as they go into the first cricket Test, saying the visitors had come here with a lot of motivation.
Ganguly said the South Africans have always been a quality side and it would be a great mistake to underestimate them simply because they lacked experience.
"South Africa have always been a good side. This team may not be as experienced as the earlier ones, but they are here with a lot of motivation.
They have talent and we just cannot take them lightly," Ganguly told reporters after unveiling the 'Videocon Cup', the trophy that would be given to the winner of the two-match series.
The Indian captain also said it was time the team got into the winning habit and made amends for the disappointing loss to Australia in the recent series at home.
"Every series is important for us. The loss against Australia was disapppoiting. We are keen to win this series, but we have to try and play good cricket to be able to do that," Ganguly said.
The Indian skipper conceded that the top order batsmen have not shown the desired form in recent matches and it was important for them to get among the runs soon.
Asked whether the batsmen were looking to find form by exploiting an inexperienced South African bowling attack, Ganguly said "the batsmen need to score against every team, not just South Africa. When you play, you always look to score runs, whichever the team.
"The batters were striking the ball well in the series against Australia but they just could not get the big scores.
As a result we ended on the losing side, but I am sure they will come good in this series."
On whether the Indians were planning to go into the match with three spinners, Ganguly said "we have not yet decided the composition of the team. We will do that tomorrow".
Ganguly did not think that the toss would be crucial on the Green Park Stadium track. "I don't think that the toss will be crucial. It is important to get a big total in the first innings to put pressure on the opponents.
"I expect the ball to turn on this pitch in the later stages. It should be good for batting early on," Ganguly, who joined his teammates late in the afternoon on Thursday, said.
Asked whether the defeat against the South Africans at home during the 1999-2000 series would weigh on the minds of the players, the Indian captain said "the teams have changed since that series.
"We are not looking back. We just have to concentrate on playing good, all-round cricket".
Ganguly, who has been permitted to play in this Test pending a verdict on his appeal against a two-match suspension for slow over-rate in a one-dayer against Pakistan, said any decision would be taken after the match.
"The Appeals Commissioner Tim Castle will have a telephonic discussion with me after the Test on November 25. Let's see what happens, I am hopeful that I will be able to play the Kolkata Test".
