According to former Proteas captain Graeme Smith, South Africa will need to figure out how to handle India’s top pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s deadly opening deliveries before the spinners come into play in the two-Test series on Friday.
Before spinners enter the picture, neither team would want to lose wickets to pacers, according to Smith.
“I think it’s never at the forefront of people’s conversation when you play cricket in the subcontinent but I think the South African team will definitely be preparing for how they’re going to handle spin,” Smith, who currently serves is the SA20 league commissioner, told the media in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“But getting off to a solid start, having a top three that can lay a platform for you, there’s nothing worse than if you go two or three down and then the spinners come on and you’re against the game already.
“So countering Bumrah up front is going to be a big thing, and Rabada as well for India. They’re world-class bowlers with world-class Test records.”
Setting the tone for the squad with the new ball will be particularly difficult for Kagiso Rabada, according to Smith.
“This is a big challenge for KG… coming to the subcontinent. He’s definitely the leader of the attack and how he can set the tone with that new ball is going to be important for Temba (Bavuma) and the team.”
Smith stated that in the first Test in Kolkata, South Africa’s batsmen will need to “step up.”
“The fact that a lot of the players with the A-team games and obviously that (Pakistan) Test series have played a bit of cricket in the subcontinent, which is always important. Your game needs to adapt, you’re thinking needs to adapt to be able to play here.”
“I’m hoping that with the first Test in Kolkata, it’s generally quite a good place to bat. You get good value for runs and it’s a stadium that especially if it’s full (it) will really make the South Africans motivated to do well in.”
According to Smith, Bavuma’s squad must get off to a strong start because it is never simple to make comebacks in the subcontinent.
Additionally, he noted that South Africa’s spin attack, which includes the seasoned Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj, may do the damage, but it would be crucial to see how the Rabada-led pace attack deals with reverse swing.
“South Africa (have) arrived here with a decent bowling attack, especially in the spin department. Maharaj and Harmer can definitely do (the) damage,” he said.
“They can control the game and they have the ability to turn the ball which is wicket-taking options with spin and then to see how Rabada and the likes handle reverse swing.”
Smith joked that Morne Morkel, who is currently India’s bowling coach and a former teammate, is an adversary.
“You know he’s an enemy now. Morne is on the wrong side of the fence,” he joked.
Smith’s view was echoed by former captain Faf du Plessis, who emphasized that South Africa must get off to a strong start in the series because comebacks are never easy.
“I feel generally your best chance of having success here is when you start the series well and you, especially as a batting unit, get a bit of confidence that you’ve got runs under the belt and you almost put the conditions a little bit out of your head,” he said.
“Then the rest of the series definitely will feel easier versus starting and you’re under pressure and it’s (a) low score (and) you lose the first Test, ball spinning a bit more. Then it’s that expectation that it’s going to be a hard tour for the team.”
Due to their good run in Tests over the past year, Du Plessis said South Africa is not lacking in confidence.
“The guys have played really well in the subcontinent for the last 12 or 14 months. When they’ve gone to Pakistan, they’ve played well,” he said.
“I’m expecting the wickets to be very much suited for spinning conditions. But it seems like the guys have really worked hard on it.”
