A confident looking Indian side will look to conquer the land of rainbows and continue their brilliant run of form in the longer version of the game. The devastating Virender Sehwag will be vital for the side to unsettle the South African pacers from day one. His opening partner Gautam Gambhir is the perfect foil and has come into some good form with back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in the recently concluded ODI series. With heavyweights like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to follow, the MS Dhoni – led Indian side is the stronger side on paper. This series will also be an opportunity for Suresh Raina to master the ability to play the short pitched delivery, something that has been a glitch in his batting. The selectors have also included the likes of Wriddhiman Saha and Cheteshwar Pujara in the squad, the latter an option should Raina fail in the first test.
Zaheer Khan will continue to spearhead the bowling department with Ishant Sharma and S.Sreesanth playing as the other two pacers. The selectors have also added youngster Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav in the test squad. 19-year-old Unadkat was picked after his good bowling performances in the under-19 team, where he spearheaded the bowling attack. Umesh Yadav, another medium pacer, was picked after good consistent performances for Vidarbha in both Ranji and Duleep Trophy. His ability to bowl at 140 kmph with a fair bit of consistency triggered his selection for this tour. In the spin department, Harbhajan Singh would be raring to return to action and be amongst the wickets. Harbhajan, who loves to bowl on a pitch that has a bit of bounce, will look to utilize the conditions at Centurion to his advantage against the South African batsmen, who aren’t great fans of spin bowling.
Setting sights on another series win, the Dhoni-led Indian side will go into the first test on Thursday looking to dominate from day one.
TEAM LINE UP
India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Shantakumaran Sreesanth.
South Africa: Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
South Africa will go into the match with home advantage and the onus is on them to take the game to the Indians. Centurion is the closest India will get to home conditions on this tour, and should they wish to end their poor run in South Africa, a win here is a must as the series will only get a whole lot tougher. A 500+ first innings score is a must for India, and with a good seam attack.
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