“India beware in the forthcoming three match Test series which starts in Chennai next week. Graeme Smith and his boys are going to thump Anil Kumble and his charges” - A very bullish Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's chief executive. The mind games have begun but I suspect this statement is going to backfire terribly. Such statements would not only fire up an aggressive Indian team but also adds pressure on the South African team.
The South African team has the usual combination– loads of discipline, touch of German efficiency and lacking flair. In Dale Steyn they have a fast bowler who can cause trouble to the strong middle order . You can also expect them to employ Paul Harris as a defensive around the wicket into rough bowling and frustrate Indians into bad shots. Indian batting line up seems to have a mental block against left arm spinners and very rarely attack them. Rest of the attack including Nitini appears flat and short of form/ class. Batting line up appears to be long with Monre Morkel playing at number 8 but may lack the class to battle the guile of Kumble in alien territory. It is the fielding department that South Africa is streets ahead of India and this should help balance the overall strengths of the two sides.
The Indian team has a settled look to it and the positive has been consistency in selection. Am glad Wasim Jaffer has been given another chance. The one factor which one needs to keep in mind is the approach of Indian batting line up. In the past, Indians seem to play defensively while playing at home. We have seen numerous 100 ball thirties from likes of Sachin, Rahul, Laxman. I hope the batsman are positive and look to attack the South Africans. Here the roles of Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly are important. The bowling attack looks strong and you can expect Kumble to top the bowling averages. I am worried about the stark decline of Harbhajan Singh in test cricket. He has forgotten the art of taking wickets in bucketfuls and this is another opportunity for him to showcase his skills. RP Singh is a much improved bowler and should be backed up well by the Sreesanth. A question mark hangs over Irfan Pathan and I don’t think he will play in any of the tests in slow / low bouncing wickets.
Overall, Indian team appears to be stronger and my prediction is 2-0 win for India
Probable teams for first test
India:
Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, RP Singh, Sreesanth
South Africa:
Graeme Smith, Neil Mckenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris
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