NEW DELHI: Tigers at home and lambs abroad. This used to be the term that aptly described the performances of the Indian cricket team not too long ago. So pathetic used to be their display in overseas Test matches that even a draw used to be considered 'honourable'.
But then things started to change under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid reached their prime and India had in their ranks bowlers like Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who could win matches on their own. Not to forget the magician with the bat VVS Laxman and a force of nature by the name of Virender Sehwag.
But with the retirement of all these greats in recent times and Mahendra Singh Dhoni not playing Tests anymore, India under Virat Kohli now face a tough task against South Africa in a four-match Test series starting in Mohali on Thursday. Kohli led his team brilliantly for his first Test series victory in Sri Lanka in August coming back from one Test down, but in South Africa they have formidable opponents who have not lost a series away from home since 2006.
South Africa may be looking for their first Test series victory on Indian soil in 15 years, but that they drew both of the last two Test series 1-1 tells a lot about their prowess. Though the Mohali pitch has the reputation of being a bouncy one, the Indian management is expected to roll out a turner to gain home advantage specially after the Wankhade pitch fiasco in the last ODI.
South Africa have in their ranks the batsmen to counter the Indian spin threat. The captain Hashim Amla may be out of form but has enjoyed playing in India where in six previous Tests he has scored 823 runs at an average of 102.87 with four centuries. And then there is AB de Villiers, who smashed three centuries in the one-day series and rescued his team with a 112 in a practice match in Mumbai ahead of the first Test.
The lack of experience of Kohli's men can be gauged from the fact that de Villiers and Amla have 44 Test centuries between them - more than the entire Indian squad has managed. South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn needs just 10 scalps to become the first overseas pacer to take 100 Test wickets in Asia, highlighting that he doesn't need helpful tracks to run through batting line-ups.
India are playing Test cricket at home after two years and have lost just one of their last 17 series but at the moment look more vulnerable than ever.
In Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul, India have three contenders for the opening slot. Then there will be the dilemma of choosing between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, the former having the defence and temperament to counter the South African pacers but the latter being preferred by the captain.
And like always, India have more questions than answers in their pace bowling department. Ishant Sharma will miss the first Test due to the ban, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron have the pace but are constantly in hunt for the right line and length and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has lost his swing in search for pace.
Can Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja flummox the Proteas in the spin web? Watch out from Thursday.
But then things started to change under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid reached their prime and India had in their ranks bowlers like Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who could win matches on their own. Not to forget the magician with the bat VVS Laxman and a force of nature by the name of Virender Sehwag.
But with the retirement of all these greats in recent times and Mahendra Singh Dhoni not playing Tests anymore, India under Virat Kohli now face a tough task against South Africa in a four-match Test series starting in Mohali on Thursday. Kohli led his team brilliantly for his first Test series victory in Sri Lanka in August coming back from one Test down, but in South Africa they have formidable opponents who have not lost a series away from home since 2006.
South Africa may be looking for their first Test series victory on Indian soil in 15 years, but that they drew both of the last two Test series 1-1 tells a lot about their prowess. Though the Mohali pitch has the reputation of being a bouncy one, the Indian management is expected to roll out a turner to gain home advantage specially after the Wankhade pitch fiasco in the last ODI.
South Africa have in their ranks the batsmen to counter the Indian spin threat. The captain Hashim Amla may be out of form but has enjoyed playing in India where in six previous Tests he has scored 823 runs at an average of 102.87 with four centuries. And then there is AB de Villiers, who smashed three centuries in the one-day series and rescued his team with a 112 in a practice match in Mumbai ahead of the first Test.
The lack of experience of Kohli's men can be gauged from the fact that de Villiers and Amla have 44 Test centuries between them - more than the entire Indian squad has managed. South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn needs just 10 scalps to become the first overseas pacer to take 100 Test wickets in Asia, highlighting that he doesn't need helpful tracks to run through batting line-ups.
India are playing Test cricket at home after two years and have lost just one of their last 17 series but at the moment look more vulnerable than ever.
In Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul, India have three contenders for the opening slot. Then there will be the dilemma of choosing between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, the former having the defence and temperament to counter the South African pacers but the latter being preferred by the captain.
And like always, India have more questions than answers in their pace bowling department. Ishant Sharma will miss the first Test due to the ban, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron have the pace but are constantly in hunt for the right line and length and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has lost his swing in search for pace.
Can Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja flummox the Proteas in the spin web? Watch out from Thursday.
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