5 players to watch out for in the India-South Africa Test series
The highly anticipated South Africa tour of India is less than a month away. The two teams are set to play 3 T20s, 5 ODIs and 4 Tests stretching over two months and will be South Africa’s longest tour ever.
India is going to play Tests at home after a gap of almost 2 years and what makes the series even more exciting is that it’s going to be a battle between two captains who are counted amongst the best batsmen of the current generation.
South Africa has won just one Test series in India, that too, 15 years ago. They last toured India almost five years ago and the series featured greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, VVS Laxman, Graeme Smith and Virender Sehwag. It was a very hardly fought encounter which ended 1-1. Both sides have moved on since then and they have plenty of youngsters who are trying to make their mark at the international stage.
Kohli led India to a 2-1 Test series win over Sri Lanka recently, India’s first overseas series victory since 2011 and the team are all charged up to face the visitors. South Africa on the other hand, have had some indifferent times off late.
Here are a few players from the two sides who will be in the spotlight in the Test series.
1. Hashim Amla
In the 2009-10 series, Amla was the most prolific run scorer. In fact, he scored a hundred every time he walked out to bat and got dismissed just once in his 3 innings. His total runs tally stood at a daunting 490 in two Test matches with scores of 253*, 114 and 123*. He won the Man of the Match in both the Tests and was also awarded the Man of the Series award.
Amla’s record in all forms of the game has been outstanding. In Tests, his average stands at 52.48. He is one batsman who does not have too many difficulties against either pace or spin. Once he gets set, he is a nightmare for the opposition.
South Africa will bank on him to come out with similar returns as the last series. India better find a weakness in him quickly or he would make them pay yet again.
2. Virat Kohli
There was a time when Sachin Tendulkar used to be the face of Indian cricket. Now the onus is on Kohli to take Indian cricket forward. Having won his first Test series as captain, he will be confident and raring to go against South Africa. Now that India is back at home, his armoury has just got strengthened.
Kohli showed signs of returning to form against Sri Lanka and India would need all of his batting skills to counter what is one of the best bowling attacks in the world. Along with his batting, his captaincy would also be under the scanner.
This is going to be his first home series as captain where the spinners will be expected to play a major role. Former skipper MS Dhoni was a master of using the spinners and it will be interesting to see how Kohli keeps the legacy going.
3. AB de Villiers
Often considered as the best batsman of the present generation, AB is always the player to watch out for. Having outstanding records in all formats, he is fresh and geared up. He has been playing in the IPL since its inception, so the Indian conditions are not alien for him.
He did not have a very pleasant outing in India last time around and would be hoping to make amends this time. Though he has not played a lot of cricket recently, it does not take long for a player like him to get going.
4. Cheteshwar Pujara
Having made a grand comeback in the Indian Test side by scoring a century after coming in as a make-shift opener, Pujara would be eager to continue on his merry way. The long run of overseas Tests has ended and he is returning to his place of strength. He has a colossal average of over 80 in Asian conditions, that also includes 2 double hundreds in India in what is still a short career.
He has a strong technique against spin bowling. He also plays the ball very late making him effective against the reverse swing as well which the South African bowlers would look to employ.
5. Dale Steyn
Known as the ‘Steyn Gun’, he has demolished the opposition batting with his deadly bowling singlehandedly on a number of occasions. He has been consistent with his figures for a long time as evident by his continuation at the number one spot in the ICC Test bowler rankings for what seems an eternity now.
In the last series in India, he picked up 11 wickets in the two Tests which included a 7 wicket haul in the first Test which South Africa won by an innings and 6 runs. Because of his action, Steyn is equally effective with both the new ball and the old one. He is also well suited to reverse swinging the ball, which is a premier weapon with the SG ball in Indian conditions.