India vs South Africa Test Series

By Nishant Joshi

South Africa travel to India after a week of turmoil and upheaval, with coach Mickey Arthur resigning along with several other members of the backroom staff. The timing of the sacking was a surprise, as it had seemed that captain Graeme Smith and coach Arthur had a very strong working relationship, having taken South Africa to the top of the ODI and test rankings in 2009 - although they have since been usurped by Australia, and now India.

After some indifferent results late in the year, it seems as if Arthur's position became untenable and there were apparent disagreements between the two on how to best move forward. Nevertheless, it was a surprising move, as Arthur can legitimately claim to have masterminded South Africa's renaissance, together with Smith. Current India coach Gary Kirsten has reportedly been approached to take over Arthur's mantle, adding another dimension to this contest between the top two test teams in the world, according to the ICC rankings.

India have won their last four tests in a row, equalling their record for consecutive test wins - remarkably, this record stretches back all the way to 1932/33. Perhaps it's anecdotal, but it's an accurate reflection on how India's cricket has progressed in the last decade. Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have revolutionised the side, crucially adding 'fight' to the already talented pool of players. Under Dhoni, India are now more ruthless than they have ever been, and they certainly have the skill and experience to back it up.

South Africa are coming off the back of a home series draw against England, which was a 'neither here nor there' series for both sides. There weren't enough positives for South Africa to justify their billing as the dominant test side in the world, and a draw was a fair result. There is clearly much to improve for this relatively young side, which seems to have regressed from the ruthless killing-machines which performed so well against Australia in 08/09.

South Africa's fast bowling remains potent, but the squad will lack experience after the retirement of the fading Makhaya Ntini. Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn are threatening in home conditions, but are unlikely to find the going so easy in India. Parnell is raw and new to the game, whereas Morkel is blowing hot and cold at the best of times. Steyn still remains arguably the best home fast bowler in test cricket, but he has

Has a great opportunity to cement himself as a permanent member of the squad. S Badrinath

not previously enjoyed his visits to the subcontinent. In terms of spinners, Paul Harris and Johan Botha were both smashed around in a practice match, and both remain inadequate attacking test bowlers.

On the batting front, JP Duminy endured a torrid end to 2009, after being touted as the next great South African batsman. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla continued to promise but failed to deliver regularly enough, whereas Smith and Jacques Kallis continued to lead from the front.

From India's point of view, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh are out of the series, while VVS Laxman is in doubt for the first test. Commentators are pathetically mini-hyping these injuries as a chance to 'see the potential' of the next generation, which is a heap of flaming bullshit.

Tamil Nadu's S Badrinath has practically been shadow-batting his test counterparts for the best part of a decade now - having been a prolific domestic scorer, and a regular feature of India's limited overs squads without ever being given a fair run in the side, Badrinath now has a great opportunity to cement himself as a permanent member of the squad.

As anybody who has had the misfortune of being 12th man before, it is a lonely task. Patrolling the outfield, all of your teammates are suddenly obnoxious in asking you for a bottle of water, and you while away your summer weekend mumbling like an uber-abrasive hybrid of Bob Willis and Geoffrey Boycott. Your hay fever acts up, and you look like a prize idiot - who's that loner sneezing on the outfield, holding back tears of frustration? Yes, it's you.

Now multiply that feeling by a million, and you might be in the same emotional ballpark as Badrinath, a man who has been so neglected by the Indian selectors that it makes your emotionally distant girlfriend look like a pre-felon Martha Stewart.

It will always be difficult to overtake the likes of Yuvraj Singh, even if Badri puts in a strong performance here, but if  he takes his chance then it will be tough for the selectors to drop him with Yuvraj still remaining a disappointment in the test arena. More importantly, scoring test runs will undoubtedly help his chances in the ODI and T20 arena, where there is more 'wiggle room' in terms of selection.

India's bowling is fairly strong, but that is largely thanks to Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra, both of whom should be prolific during this series. Ishant Sharma remains at a crossroads in his career and he is yet to convince that he is here to stay, although Zaheer Khan will be as steady as ever.

Nagpur will stage the first test and should be a spinner's paradise - during South Africa's 2008 tour to India, the first test was host to a greentop which played into South Africa's hands. I'm certain that the only remit for the grounds men at both Nagpur and Eden Gardens will be to host pitches without a blade of grass on them, and which will deteriorate rapidly.

From a betting point of view, given India's dominant home record and South Africa's coaching upheaval, India certainly have the edge in this two-match series of back-to-back tests. In fact, I would have them as decent favourites for both tests and will be surprised if South Africa match their 08 achievement of bagging a test this time round.

Totesport offer 2.4 about an India series win, which offers fantastic value.

India (predicted): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 M Vijay, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 S Badrinath, 7 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 8, Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant Sharma.

South Africa (predicted): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Ashwell Prince, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Paul Harris, 9 Wayne Parnell, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel.

NJ's Bets:

India to win series - 5pts @ 2.4 (Totesport)

Nishant Joshi