RAIN STOPS GROUND DRYING UP FAST

Rain stops. Ground drying up fast

There is good news coming in from Centurion. Rain has stopped for the time being and even the clouds have been clearing. This has suddenly enhanced the prospect of play starting today in the first test.

After beating down heavily, rain Gods finally relented at Centurion and have done so in an impressive manner. They have taken back a major portion of the clouds with them and Centurion presents a bright picture all of a sudden. With an excellent drainage system at work, outfield is drying fast and at the current rate, there is a definite prospect of play today in this big contest.

Expectations have been sky high from both the sides going into the first test of the final frontier for the world's number one test team, India. But, the skies had the last laugh at least in the early proceedings. Rain Gods opened up at the Centurion last night and they were unrelenting till this morning. What made matters worse was the puddles of water that had filled up the outfield. Curator had maintained from the beginning that it only needs a bit of sunshine for the ground to start drying up fast.

While play is unlikely for at least the first two sessions, the teams will have a great opportunity to rework on their strategies. At least, Dhoni will have an opportunity to reassess the fitness of their star speedster Zaheer Khan and try and see if he gets back to prime fitness to play in the first test.

India have been playing down all talk of Sachin Tendulkar and his milestone and each one of them claim they have been focussed on conquering the final frontier. Remember, India have won only one test match in twelve attempts.

Why Team India should go for broke in South Africa

One can hardly recall two test matches starting on the same day. If that is a rarity, consider the scenario where the teams are seeking to conquer fortresses that seemed impregnable for over two decades and their opponents are leaving no off-the-field stone unturned to ensure that their fortunes at home do not dip.

For the cricket fan across the world, there could hardly be anything more intriguing than the drama we expect to unfold over five days starting tomorrow. While India will pull out all stops to try and conquer what is its "final frontier" in cricket after assuming top test spot, England has already taken a step in outgunning their arch rivals in their own den.

Intriguingly, both Australia and now South Africa started playing out the mind games well before the visitors landed though the former champion test side finds itself in a none-too-happy situation of being 0-1 down after two tests with three more to go. As for India, they have everything to gain and little to lose, given that even a 0-3 loss to the Proteas will do little to dislodge them from the Numero Uno status.

History and past records count for nothing when a team enters the battle without unduly worrying about the results. In this regard, the stakes are higher for South Africa, who has as big a reputation as India for being tigers at home. Of course, if one were to compare series results over the last ten years, it emerges that South Africa lost thrice to Australia and once to England between 2000 and 2010, a period when India's only series loss was to Australia in 2004.

Who is better captain-MS Dhoni or Graeme Smith?

That's so far as one can go with facts and figures, as every player worth his salt knows that statistics can change and the records are always rewritten. This is where the Indian team's current mindset will play a crucial role, given that they are going into this series after lacklustre three tests against the Kiwis, followed by a clinical display in the ODIs.

While the Poms proved cricket pundits' prediction of the team gaining the upper hand on Day-I ruling the roost, the Indians will have their task cut out when they step on to the SuperSport Park at Centurion on Thursday. It is highly likely that India may bat first, given skipper M S Dhoni's luck with the toss and the fact that his opposite number Graeme Smith may be itching to let his bowlers loose on on a team he believes are "bouncer bunnies".

If Dhoni's luck with the toss changes, there is still every chance that he chooses to bat first, a decision that will seem positive and bold only if his openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir string
together yet another century stand between them. In fact, one can safely say that if India bats first, the first session could decide the script for the rest of the series though the converse may not be true. For, a deadly spell of Indian seam bowling could mean nothing if the follow-up bowlers do not deliver for the rest of the day.

The Indian middle order with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman will have to play a different game to the ones dished out by the openers, whether they come good or fail. The best way to win in South Africa is to grind out the home team as England did under Michael Vaughan in 2004. Andrew Strauss scored a century off 200 balls while Number 3 Mark Butcher took a whopping 193 deliveries to score 79. The second innings was no different with Strauss and Graham Thorpe playing the waiting game all too well.

The visitors won the fourth test at the Wanderers' through a similar strategy of grinding the Proteas bowlers with Robert Key and skipper Vaughan playing wonderfully with full patience. Another lesson that the Indians might take away from the matches is the fact the two of members of the current bowling attack - Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis - were very much part of the squad against England and actually went for plenty without much rewards.

The crucial differentiator between the two teams then was the bowling attack. England had a better mix of raw pace, steepling bounce, swing and reverse swing in the form of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, Mathew Hoggard, Simon Jones and James Anderson plus the largely restrictive Ashley Giles. For the Proteas, the bowling lacked variety as Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini bowled pretty much the same lines and lengths with Steyn being the only one who pitched it up. Of course, their lone spinner Nicky Boje hardly made any impact on the Poms.

Things look pretty much the same for India this time as they have a left arm swing bowler in Zaheer Khan supported by the pace and bounce of Ishant Sharma and the swing of Sreesanth to lend better variety compared to Messrs Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kallis for the home team. In the spin department Harbhajan Singh would do well to work with the bounce that the wickets will provide and the footmarks that Zaheer can create at the opposite end.

Skipper Dhoni can force the issue by dropping a batsman for including left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who has proved to be quite a foil for Bhajji in recent matches. From a purely cricketing perspective, this appears sound as Suresh Raina was found suspicious against the short-pitched stuff on South African grounds even in the shortest format of the game during IPL-2.

Ultimately, the series will be decided by the mindset of the teams. There is no doubt that the South Africans consider the ICC test rankings farcical, given that they are placed behind India at second place, a fact that is probably the sole reason for the mind games that they've started playing now. Now, if the Indians go into the series wanting to win, they will force the issue and may surprise many of the doomsday predictions being bandied about today. If the scoreline reads 0-1 after the three tests, the Indian think-tank may be silently satisfied, but as the Number One team, Dhoni and Co. should go for broke, especially since Smith and his boys have a bigger point to prove.