Match Preview: Balanced India look more solid than SA on made-to-order pitches

TWO YEARS AND 16 away Tests later, a young Indian Test side returns to play a home series against a world-class team that has a reputation of being successful tourists. 

South Africa kick-started their campaign with a successful T20I and ODI series, and they would be in a happy state of mind going into this Test series. For India, it is time to put the past behind, renew their Test hopes and take advantage of being the home side. After all the hullabaloo surrounding the pitch conditions, it is a given that India will play to its strength, i.e. rank turners. Ravichandran Ashwin is currently India's best spinner, and with two able companions in Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja, the spin department looks balanced. 

Take a closer look at the pitch for the 1st Test at Mohali. No wonder the Proteas are intrigued by the dryness of it.

We were given a close look at the Mohali pitch. Quite dry, very visible cracks, footmarks et al. #IndvSA pic.twitter.com/L1FVccv7tT

— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) November 4, 2015

As for the seamers, Ishant Sharma's absence may hurt India a bit, but Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron will have to step up and take the lead. Whether Kohli opts to play Jadeja or all-rounder Stuart Binny remains to be seen. The batting department looks more or less sorted. In fact, some of these batsmen have had a learning experience on away tours in the past couple of years and are now well-settled in their role. Particularly for Kohli, who faces a dual challenge of captaincy and batting. He seems pretty excited, and it is this positivity that rubs on to the other team members, which is a good sign.

On paper, the Indian Test team looks far more settled than their limited-overs side. But on the field, the hosts will be facing a litmus test against a team that has done much better in India than any other Test-playing nation. Despite the absence a match-winning, quality spinner in their ranks over the years, South Africa have been able to hold their fort more often than not. They have lost just one Test series out of their last four in India. They have not lost an away Test series anywhere in the world in the last nine years. India's temperament will be tested against a resilient team like South Africa. It will take much more than just home advantage to come anywhere close to beating them.

The home team will be relying heavily on their spin bowlers. Ashwin and Jadeja demolished a strong Australian side the last time they played at home. Mishra has also come into his own after a fine Sri Lanka series, and he will be fired up to carry his form. But these spinners will be up against some of the best players of spin in the Protea batting line-up. AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis are seasoned players of spin bowling and are known to make the bowler's life miserable.

Apart from their strong batting, South Africa's hopes will also be resting on their pace spearhead, Dale Steyn, who has bowled some of his finest spells in India. The pacer is more than capable of repeating his 2010 heroics at Nagpur that left the Indian batting in disarray. The Indian batsmen will be wary of the Steyn gun.

Players to watch out:

India - Shikhar Dhawan has had a quiet limited-overs series, and it is now time for the law of averages to catch up. The southpaw will be raring to go at a venue where he has fond memories of a blazing Test debut. His partnership with opener Murali Vijay will be crucial at the top. In the middle order, the onus will be on Rohit Sharma, who is known to throw away good stars. He needs to be patient at the crease. Though with Pujara in form, it will be a tough decision to drop either of them. Ashwin will be in the spotlight as well, and his fitness and form will be key to India's success. The off-spinner missed most of the ODI series, and it will be interesting to see how he finds his rhythm. Ishant Sharma's absence means Umesh Yadav will need to push himself in the pace department, spearheading a relatively inexperienced attack.  

South Africa - Hashim Amla is known for his batting supremacy in the longer format, but the batsman seems to have disappeared in the limelight of AB de Villiers. The Proteas will need their skipper to lead from the front in this consuming five-day battle, the toughest Test of Amla's calibre. Vice-captain AB is in some fine form and his Test records are as good as his limited-overs numbers. He is someone who cannot be taken for granted regardless of the format. JP Duminy will miss the first Test, which means Faf du Plessis will have to make up for it in the middle order. In the bowling department, Dale Steyn will be India's biggest threat, as the speedster has claimed to have already identified the chink in India's batting armour. He would be aiming to get the better of Indian batsmen.

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