Preparation for the World Cup Starts Now

With all of the hype and expectations of the Test series, the attention now shifts towards the shorter formats of the game.

Tomorrow will see the only Twenty20 match of the series at the new Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

The respective captains, Johan Botha and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, both admit that playing the match at a World Cup soccer venue on a specially laid pitch will present a unique set of challenges.

Both teams were due to have their first view of the ground late on Saturday, and hoped to make special plans for the match after seeing the playing surface.

Botha and Dhoni both said that the experience of playing in New Zealand, where drop-in pitches and rugby grounds are used for limited-overs matches, would come in to play.

While many might be arriving to witness the top two teams in the world slug it out, an equal many locals will be arriving to pay homage to one of South Africa’s sons as he departs from the international cricket scene.

The event is to be Makhaya Ntini's farewell match, while Sachin Tendulkar is set to be honoured for his continued contribution to the progress of cricket.

The stadium doesn't have the dimensions of an international cricket field and with the straight boundaries particularly short, boundary hitting may be the order of the day here.

The match has been sold out with over 50,000 fans expected to pack into the stadium, making it the biggest attendance for a cricket match on the African continent.

South Africa (possible): Hashim Amla, Morne van Wyk, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Johan Botha (capt), Robin Petersen, Rusty Theron, Wayne Parnell, Makhaya Ntini

India (possible): Rohit Sharma, M Vijay, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt), R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha/Munaf Patel

The South African players to watch include Hashim Amla and the man of the moment Makhaya Ntini.

Amla is playing in his third ever match in this format, however with an ODI strike rate close to 95- as well as being in front of his home crowd- expect fireworks.

Ntini has his last chance to impress on the international cricket scene, and assuming he doesn’t actually register any wickets here, the emotion that will flow from each ball he bowls make him a likely candidate for top wicket taker in this match.

IPL frontman Suresh Raina will look to put his dodgy Test form behind him as he returns to a format he knows all too well. He has a major point to prove here, and with a short boundary he should flourish.

Graeme Smith has been ruled out of the match because of bruising to his hand courtesy of a short pitched delivery from Sreesanth in the Cape Town Test. Morne van Wyk takes his place.

Sachin Tendulkar is likely to be rested for India, while the experienced trio of Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth earn a long-awaited break.