South Africa next on the checklist for India

The year started for India with a historic Test series win Down Under brought about by conquering the Australian fortress of Gabba in what will go down as one of the defining moments in the country’s rich cricket history. The team’s legacy grew stronger with two Test wins in England, albeit the dreaded coronavirus kept them from finishing what they started. Nevertheless, the undeterred contingent went on to conquer the World Test Champions New Zealand in phenomenal fashion, catapulting themselves back to number one in the ICC Test rankings. 

Now, December has brought the Men in Blue a chance to etch their names in history by capping off perhaps the most iconic year for the country in Tests, as they land in South Africa for a highly anticipated battle against the Proteas. 

It has been a tense few days for Indian cricket, with its enigmatic skipper Virat Kohli and the BCCI engaged in a cold war of sorts ahead of the crucial tour. With captaincy changing hands in ODIs and Rohit Sharma being appointed the sole white-ball captain, off-field drama has somewhat overshadowed the sheer potential of the upcoming series.

The last time India toured South Africa was for the three-Test Freedom Trophy in 2017/18, and the hosts won the first two games to take an unassailable lead. It was their sixth series win at home against India of the seven times the two have played since 1992, with only the 2010/11 encounter ending in a 1-1 draw. While it was an incredible feat by the Indian team back then considering they went up against the strongest South African Test side ever assembled in the midst of a historic run that saw them claim the ICC mace, the latest tour was where India really achieved some unprecedented marks.

The 2017/18 tour saw the Indian pace quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dominate the opposition batsmen in frequent spells on wickets that were alien to them. They outperformed the opposition bowlers for large parts, but their inexperience and naivety often shone through the cracks and helped deliver the series to the Proteas. Even so, it was the beginning of the Indian era of domination on foreign seaming wickets, an event that has been years in the making under the tutelage of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri which finally came alive in 2021.

However, for India to have success, they will need to find a solution to their middle-order conundrum sooner rather than later. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have been ruled out from the series, leaving the Indian top-order short of options. The former will be especially missed by the visitors, given his experience playing in different conditions and the recent surge in the form he has displayed in red-ball cricket. Even so, more worrying is the lack of runs from the men that follow them. 

Ajinkya Rahane has had nothing short of a disastrous year, one that saw him lose his spot as Test vice-captain. Cheteshwar Pujara has been nowhere near the lofty standards we are accustomed to seeing him achieve, while skipper Virat Kohli has been struggling for big scores himself.

However, they’ll take solace in the performances of Shreyas Iyer on his debut, registering a century and a half-century to steer the team to victory. While Iyer made the headlines, a steadfast Hanuma Vihari silently plied his trade in South Africa, battling the A team in preparation for this tour. He did exceedingly well, accumulating 227 runs across five innings at an average of over 75 runs. Even though one faced completely different conditions that will be on offer while the other played a second-string bowling attack, there is no denying the talent the two possess and their ability to be an anchor in that Indian lineup. All the team will be needing is one of them to click in the crucial moments, as long as the top order continues to exhibit its superlative form.

With the frontline Indian seamers fit and match ready while South Africa’s pace attack only features one truly fearsome name in the form of Kagiso Rabada, now that Anrich Nortje has been ruled out, this is unquestionably India’s best chance to win a Test series in South Africa. They have already done the seemingly impossible against Australia, before valiantly staging a comeback to take the series lead in England; and stand ever so close to ticking off three from the SENA checklist. Under the guidance of newly anointed coach Rahul Dravid, will India finally script history in South Africa? It is for the brave to speculate, but it is difficult to deny they go into the series as the firm favourites.

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