Springboks Need Goats!

India Vs South Africa - 3rd Test Preview 2011

With India's historic win at Durban - the final contest moves to Cape Town.

England and Australia might say that the Ashes is the contest of the season - but real cricket fans know better. After all the World No. 1 team is touring to the World No. 2! Everyone knows that when you travel - your Test Cricket ranking doesn't really matter. Except the West Indies of the early eighties and the Australian team of the nineties - every cricket team has been a poor traveller. So the contest at South Africa is all about who is really the Best Cricketing Test team in the world.

After the first innings debacle at Centurion - India scored 459 runs in the second innings. That innings showed the merit of the side. There was no folding over - after a humiliating first innings batting performance. However South Africa had done enough in the first innings to win by an innings and 25 runs

See India vs South Africa 1st Test Centurion Scorecard - 16 - 20 Dec 2010
http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-india-2010/engine/current/match/463146.html

The second test saw an ebullient South Africa at Durban with a grassy pitch in overcast condition. Indians hate the grass - right? It reminded me of the reaction of the Australians after they won at Sydney and before the Perth Test in early 2008. Perth was considered to be among the fastest and Indians were supposed to have lost even before the Test began. At Durban India's 66 in 1996 was always on the top of everyone's mind. To complicate the situation - Dhoni lost the toss (again!). However as the Test progressed - it was the South African team which found the pitch more to their disliking! India's own Very Very Special man again stood up in a tense situation to deliver.

All this makes the Durban win a really special one for the team. A team that is fast getting used to its No. 1 status.

Now the contest moves to Cape Town. The talk is no more of grass - but of runs. The one who fumbles and doesnt score will likely stumble. A good partnership and a heavy first innings score will likely get a win. For India the Openers have to score runs. Dravid, Sehwag, Gambhir need to make a mark. Ishant needs discipline, Harbhajan needs consistency, Shreesanth needs to continue his aggression without overdoing it and Zaheer needs to keep fit. However all these are small niggles which every team faces.

The battle of the mind has been won. The Springboks have had to bring on the goats.