Daijiworld Media Network

Johannesburg, Dec 18: Wanderers, lucky for India? India haven't lost here at the Wanderers. They have played 3 Tests before this game and won in 2006-07, while drawing the other two. But this is an inexperienced Indian side who will be hard pressed to maintain that unbeaten record. But certainly some positive news for the visitors going into the game.

The test gets stiffer and stiffer for this Indian side after their practice game at Benoni was abandoned due to rain. They were comprehensively outplayed in the ODI series and some of the top order batsman couldn't put bat to ball against the high quality pace bowling of the Proteas. If that wasn't easy, then with the red ball you can multiply the difficulty level by a couple of notches more.

What does the pitch and the weather look like? The pitch is expected to be pacy and bouncy, with plenty of carry for the fast bowlers. So a typical Wanderers wicket. Thundershowers are forecast for every day of the game, so weather will play a bit of a role in this game.

Shaun Pollock with the pitch report: 'The sun is out, spoke to Scotty (the Wanderers groundsman) and he has told me he has had perfect preparation. There will be movement early on and the batsmen will have their work cut out. Nice grass covering, there are some cracks - but nothing to worry about on day 1 and day 2. As the sun beats down, the cracks will widen. As for the spinners, hmmm, I don't see anything for them. If South Africa win the toss, they will bat first.'

Zaheer Khan: 'I have worked pretty hard on my fitness for the last 6 to 8 months, went to France for about 6 to 8 weeks and been in South Africa for 3-4 weeks as pre-season training, the preparation has been good. I have bowled more than 200 overs in domestic cricket and I'm all ready. It was good that I came here with the ODI squad to practice for the Tests. We've got a couple of weeks here to acclimatise, the practice match got washed out, but the time in the middle we had was a productive one. Coming from the subcontinent it is always nice to bowl on bouncy tracks, I have always enjoyed bowling here, looking forward to it. The morale in the dressing room is pretty good. Looking forward to it (when asked about his battle with Graeme Smith).'

India have won the toss and have opted to bat

MS Dhoni: 'We are looking to bat first, the wicket looks a bit different from the one a couple of days back. One of the important things is to bowl in the right areas early on, it is important to give yourself some time in the middle - that's the gameplan. Zaheer for one is definitely playing. Rahane will bat at 6 and the guys who are missing out are Bhuvi, Ojha, Umesh and Saha.'

Smith: 'We would've batted first as well. Hopefully the wicket has something in it for us. The wicket looks a bit drier than normal, it is likely to have a bit more juice on it than usual which should help us. We have got to lay down a marker. Hash (Amla) is an outstanding cricketer, he has been a rock for us at 3, it is good to have him back. Lot of respect for the game, lot of respect for India and lot of good cricket to be played over the next 10 days.'

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Graeme Smith(c), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers(w), Faf du Plessis, Jean-Paul Duminy, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

India (Playing XI): Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma

Team news: South Africa announced their playing eleven yesterday. The usual suspects in there, with Tahir being picked as the lone spinner. There is great depth in batting with Duminy at 6 and du Plessis at 7. Certainly a formidable outfit. India are likely to go in with Rahane at 6 and also prefer Ishant over Bhuvneshwar. Aside from those two changes, pretty much the same side that thrashed West Indies last month.

All eyes will be on one man in the Indian line-up, the returning Zaheer Khan - he last played a match in whites for India against England at Kolkata in December 2012. Since then he has missed 7 Test matches, but after undergoing a rigorous fitness regimen in France, he is now back - lean and fit, ready to once again spearhead the attack. His presence in the Indian side will no doubt boost the pace attack and also provide the much needed experience. PS: Zaheer is just 5 wickets away from reaching 300 Test wickets, if he gets there he will be just the fourth Indian to reach that landmark.
A significant Test match this one for Mahendra Singh Dhoni - this will be his 50th Test as captain of India. His record before this match reads: played 49, won 26, lost 12, drawn 11. No other Indian captain has captained his side in 50 Tests before, so Dhoni's feat is certainly a laudable one.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that South Africa are currently the best side in the world in Test cricket - the No. 1 ranking is just a mere affirmation of that fact. Consider this: They last lost a Test series in March 2009 against Australia at home - that's 4 years and 9 months ago. Since then, they have won or drawn a series all around the world. A truly magnificent side capably led by the evergreen Graeme Smith who is still going strong after crossing the landmark of captaining 100 Tests for his country.

Hello and a warm welcome to wherever you may be as South Africa and India face off in a 2-Test series, which was originally a 3-match one, but was later curtailed due to India's home series with West Indies. Out of the current Indian squad that has landed in South Africa, only Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Ishant Sharma have previous experience of playing a Test match in this country. That's only 5 out of the 17 in the squad.

08:58 Local Time, 06:58 GMT, 12:28 IST: How about this stat to start off things for South Africa v India: Since the Proteas came back into the international fold in 1991-92, India have never won a Test series in the rainbow country in 5 attempts! And now on their 6th attempt, they don't have Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag in their batting line-up. What's more they are facing a South African side who are ranked No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings. If this isn't a stern test, then there can't be any other sterner examination.

match preview :

Having been outclassed in the ODI series, the Indians have been put on the back-foot and they need to show drastic improvements, especially with the bat, if they are to challenge South Africa in the two-Test series, starting in Johannesburg on December 18. In five series that they have played so far in South Africa, India have lost four times while managing to secure a draw the last time they toured in 2010. While they have been given a very slim chance to register their first series win in the country, the tourists will be hoping to prove their critics wrong.

South Africa: Graeme Smith's team has developed into a formidable outfit in the past few years and the No. 1 ranked Test side, which has not lost a single Test series since March 2009, will be looking to extend the unbeaten streak against a relatively inexperienced Indian team. The hosts have named the same playing eleven that beat Pakistan in the second Test at Abu Dhabi for the opening Test. This means that Alviro Petersen, despite his poor run of form this year, has been given another chance. Graeme Smith too was not quite in his elements in 2013 before cracking a superb double ton against Pakistan in October. The left-handed opener will be looking to come up with a similar effort and keep Zaheer Khan, who has dismissed him 6 times in 9 matches, at bay.
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AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have been performing consistently for the Proteas team this year and they will be hoping to continue their good work. de Villiers is the highest run-scorer for South Africa in Tests this year, having amassed 743 runs in 7 matches at an average of 82.55 with 3 hundreds and four fifties. Amla is 10 short of 600 runs in the five-day format in 2013 and averages 73.75 with two centuries and four half-centuries. The presence of Jacques Kallis is an added strength to the already powerful South African middle order. However, the all-rounder has not been doing all that well with the bat this year, averaging only 17.77 and he will be hoping to make amends in this series. South Africa will also be hoping for sizeable contributions from JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis, who complete the batting order.

Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel constitute a strong three-man pace-attack with Kallis providing the fourth pace option. Imran Tahir is the lone spinner in the side. Steyn and Philander have taken the most number of wickets for South Africa this year. The former has picked up 41 wickets at an average of 14.36 with 3 fifers and one 10-wicket haul while the latter has scalped 28 wickets at an average of 16.35 with 2 five-wicket hauls. Morkel has not been all that consistent with the ball while Kallis too has not done much. Leg-spinner Tahir has played only one Test in 2013 in which he picked up 8 wickets including a fifer.

India: MS Dhoni and his team have the odds stacked against them in their first Test series since the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar. Also, the South Africa series is India's first overseas series in the absence of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, apart from Tendulkar, which will be quite a challenge for the young batters, who have hardly played any overseas Tests. Shikhar Dhawan, who made a brilliant start to his Test career with a century against Australia, has not contributed much since then, failing in the Test series against West Indies. His opening partner Murali Vijay, who had played a Test in South Africa in 2010, started the year well with back-to-back centuries against Australia but has not been converting his starts of late.

South African quick Morkel had pointed out that India lacks batsmen who can build long innings. However, Cheteshwar Pujara, at number three, is one who is capable of proving him wrong. While he failed the last time he toured the country, he has been scoring big since then, albeit in the sub-continent. Virat Kohli, who is likely to take the number 4 position, will be playing in only his third overseas series. The right-hander, who is a vital cog in the Indian batting line-up, showcased fine skills in negotiating the Australian pacers Down Under and he will be hoping to repeat that against the South African quicks. Rohit Sharma, who made his Test debut this year against West Indies, will be hoping to continue his good run while Ajinkya Rahane, who is likely to make it to the eleven and bat at No. 6, will be eager to prove his prowess. Skipper Dhoni, with an experience of 5 Tests in South Africa, will have an important role to play in the middle order apart from providing guidance to the line-up filled youngsters.

Zaheer's presence in the Indian bowling line-up is a big boost to the visiting team and his role will be the most important one. Apart from bringing his experience into play, the left-arm seamer will also be mentoring the inexperienced pacers in the team. Ishant Sharma, after a struggle in 2013, found some form with a four-wicket haul in the third ODI and he will be keen to get amongst the wickets in the Test series. Mohammed Shami, who impressed against West Indies, will also have a key role to play. Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are likely to be the pacers who will miss out of the eleven while R Ashwin is likely to be the lone spinner in the line-up. While there will not be much on offer for the offie in the first few days, the visitors will be hoping that he keeps things tight at his end and contribute with some wickets once the pitch wears.

Pitch and Weather: While there will be pace and bounce on offer, groundsman Chris Scott confirmed that nothing extra has been done to spice up the pitch. Morkel said picking up wickets early is important as batting becomes easier on the Wanderers track as the match goes on.

As far as the weather is concerned, rain is forecast on most of the days. However, excellent draining facilities and the predicted low intensity of showers, mean that interruptions are not likely to be long.