Spin and how to play it loom large as India host WTC winners South Africa

The reigning ICC World Test Champions are back in India, seeking to correct a rather sorry record in the country. Can Temba Bavuma’s South African team overcome spin, history, and the pressure of playing in arguably the toughest conditions in Test cricket?

Bavuma has not said it openly, but there is a quiet confidence withing this Proteas unit that suggests they are here to play better than their predecessors. In case you cannot recall, South Africa’s last two Test tours to India, in 2015 and 2019, resulted in 0-3 defeats. They last won a Test match on Indian soil in 2010, when Graeme Smith’s team drew 1-1.

The only time a South African team managed to win a series in India was back in 2000, when Hansie Cronje’s side won 2-0.

So, as you can see, the odds are stacked against Bavuma and his team-mates.

Bavuma himself has not played a Test since the WTC final back in June, on account of injuries, and South Africa’s most recent series was a 1-1 draw in Pakistan. During that series, South Africa lost 27 of 32 wickets to spin but their spinners 35 of the 40 Pakistani wickets to fall, which is a record.

Touring sides know full well the challenge of playing on tracks that start to aid turn by day two of a Test match, and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens – venue for the first game from November 14 – will help the spinners. The venue for the second Test is Guwahati, which has never hosted a Test match. So literally, it’s into the unknown for South Africa.

South Africa enter the series with three formidable spinners of their own in Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, who could prove a handful for India, whose batsmen have struggled against spinner over the last couple of years. For evidence, look at the 2023 home series against Australia and last year’s whitewash at the hands of New Zealand.

Bavuma does not think the pitches in India will be very different from what South Africa encountered in Pakistan, which puts focus on how the team’s batting unit fares against Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar. Four of South Africa’s potential top six have never played a Test in India, so the challenge is real.

India are getting used to hopping between formats. They did not play a Test match for over two months and hopped from winning the T20 Asia Cup to hosting West Indies for two Tests; as soon as that was over, they flew to Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is and now, less than a week later, they are back playing five-day cricket.

Of course, not all of the players feature in all three formats, but those that do have to adjust quickly. The captain, Shubman Gill, had a poor time in Australia and needs runs to raise his confidence. KL Rahul also had a low-key ODI series in Australia, and given his inconsistency in Tests, a strong showing up top will be imperative. Kuldeep was yanked out of the Australia tour midway during the T20Is and sent home to play an unofficial four-day match for India A against South Africa, as preparation for the Tests, but managed a solitary wicket from 28 overs in defeat.

The return of Rishabh Pant is another focal point of this series. Pant had been sidelined since this summer’s tour of England, when which he fractured a foot while batting during the fourth Test at Old Trafford. After completing his rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre for Excellence, Pant proved his match fitness in successive four-day games for India A versus South Africa A, the highlight being a crucial innings of 90 to hasten victory in the first match.

With Pant back, it seems likely that the impressive Dhruv Jurel will fall out of India’s XI – even though he is good enough to play as a specialist batsman any day. Jurel has form on his side, having scored twin centuries for India A against South Africa A last week, and there is enough merit to picking him ahead of Nitish Reddy as a No 6 option.

Reddy batted just once in the West Indies series and bowled just four overs, and with India rarely needing a third seamer at home, the selection issue facing India at Eden Gardens is one of form versus flexibility.

Jasprit Bumrah will lead the attack, and after a lukewarm series against West Indies he must be itching to make a mark against the WTC winners. Mohammed Siraj will pick up the new ball alongside Bumrah and look to continue his impressive form. Three spinners are the norm, with Reddy the third pace option if he gets the nod.

India likely 11: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj

South Africa likely 11: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 Tony de Zorzi, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Senuran Muthusamy, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Kagiso Rabada