South Africa vs. India- First Test Preview

Although the majority of the cricketing world’s attention has been firmly set on the Ashes over the past two weeks, a large majority of the viewing public will be licking their lips at this encounter.

South Africa play host to India in one of the tightest series to call in a long time.

With India currently ranked top of the world, and South Africa second- this series will undoubtedly provide the entertainment that enthusiasts and test traditionalists have been waiting for.

The battle between Test cricket's powerhouses will begin in Centurion, where South Africa has never lost a Test and where India has never played a Test.

In fact, South Africa's overall Test record at home is impeccable, with only five series loses since their entry to Test cricket in 1992.

India come into this series after narrowly beating New Zealand 1-0, but will find conditions vastly different in South Africa, where there is assistance for their bowlers.

On the batting front, the visitors’ success will hinge on the combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to give them brisk starts in a bid to get competitive totals.

The Indian middle order hosts one of the all time best with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman boasting 96 hundreds between them. On top of this, none of the Indian top order seems out of sorts- however this could change against a team the calibre of South Africa.

The new ball is likely to be shared between Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan- who is currently being monitored closely with a possible hamstring injury. There will be a tussle between Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat to replace Khan if he fails a fitness test, with Ishant Sharma the third seamer.

Armed with a star-studded batting line up, the home side lays claim to a world-class all-rounder in Jacques Kallis batting at number three. Ashwell Prince, who has a great record against India returns to the squad at the expense of Duminy.

The hosts will be lifted by the return of captain Graeme Smith after the fractured hand he sustained in the series against Pakistan.

South Africa’s batting line up has matured over the years, and with AB De Villiers having scored 834 runs at a magnificent average of 83 so far this year- they will be confident to rack up a pile against the Indian attack.

South Africa will also be lifted by the inclusion of paceman Dale Steyn who averages 18.66 with the ball at Centurion. He has publicly singled out the Indian opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir for ‘special treatment’, meaning the public can expect some vicious short balls first up.

South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Paul Harris, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

India (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Jaidev Unadkat/Umesh Yadav.

South Africa is the team that everyone recognises as being closest to number one, without quite getting there. One must feel that a home series, on pace friendly pitches, might just be the motivation they need to follow through.

On their previous two visits to India, they went up 1-0 in the series only to leave with a shared prize.

South Africa has no fitness issues, and has to decide between Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Ryan McLaren on the pace bowler front. Tsotsobe is the favourite as his left-arm skills add variety to those offered by Steyn and Morkel at the other end.

The bookies are calling a draw as the favoured option here, with not too many punters willing to call this one first up.

This will be a tightly fought contest with nothing given between these two sides.

However, South Africa can be devastating at home, and knowing that a world number one ranking is at stake- and weather permitting- the hosts have the firepower to go 1-0 up in the opener.