South Africa severely test India's five-day credentials

Greg, accept my congratulations! SA convincingly beat India at Ahmedabad. If they can maintain this approach and momentum, they do have a chance to go at Australia. However, the Aussies have a stronger backbone and do not fluctuate between extremes like India. You pace bowling is awesome. I was finally convinced after watching Steyn, Morkel and Ntini bowl on a lively wicket. Just wish that SA is not playing India when they swing to the other extreme where they can beat any team. This time they played at par with Zimbabwe. Tomorrow, they might play at par with the Australians. But hey, that is Indian cricket in a nutshell. Good luck to your team.

Who cares about South Africa?

You're a gentleman, thanks Partha. I'm very happy, I do think some of my predictions came true, especially the FOCUS issue. (maybe also fatigue from the Aussie tour), but I am REALLY crowing about a Protea's squad that is GOOD in 2008 ... a rare thing, so forgive me if I'm a fanatical fan for this season, maybe next year they'll be useless, so I have to get my cheap thrill ASAP ... (I do think the Protea's will get to Australia with some steam behind them, and then its going to be titanic and a 50/50 call) The lads will know this is probably their BEST shot, and we'll have to see how they seize the day !

While the South Africans played superbly in the Ahmedabad test, I expect the third test to be the real challenge. Expect a spinning track from day one customized to suit the Indians. If the South Africans can win or draw that test, then the crowing can rightly begin.

Cricket boards must be fined if they prepare pitches favoring home team. Fairness must be maintained. Once upon a time I used to believe that India should make all spin tracks. But the game can become lopsided. Sportive pitches will help players derive some satisfaction whether they win or lose. Dead track tests must be disqualified. As it is, fast bowlers are breaking apart on life-less tracks. They need something on the wickets for them to try. It is really hard on quick bowlers with nothing from the pitch for them. The contest must be even between the bat and the ball so that the truely better team wins. If SA beats India at Kanpur, they definitely have a good chance of taking on Australia. The key thing is to win the series in Australia comprehensively and not by small margins. A stint in India will definitely help. May the best team be the champion!

With the Aussies struggling against India, I doubt they could have achieved what the Protea's have IN India... even if the series is ultimately a draw ! South Africa will be happy enough with the away draw and I guess we will have to wait until October to see how the Aussie tour to India pans out... I'm not going to hold my breath regarding the Kanpur Test. India will probably win, it doesn't matter, Protea's fans are happy enough with the Away Drawn series. If I was Graeme Smith, I'd play for a draw in Kanpur and that might be a big enough challenge. If India can win they'll salvage some credibility, but not very much I'm afraid because the home draw will favour South Africa.

I think the Indians are going to turn out like the poms after the beat aussie in 05 except they only lost but put up a good fight and for some reason thought they deserved to win that series, it seems as if they have been celebrating for to long, i havent watched any of the india v sa games because fox sports arent showing it but i think it would be fair to say that india should beat south africa on home soil especially with two quality spinners on indian wickets.

India's meek surrender at Ahmedabad should make the team think tank worried about the capacity of our batsmen to stay at the crease in this gruelling heat. Apparently except for Ganguly and Pathan ,no batsmen was seen even trying to leave the harmless deliveries out side his off stump.we hardly saw any forward defensive stroke or tenacity from most of the batsmen to stay at the wicket as the entire team was dismissed before lunch on the first day of the test match.It seems that unless we have the Chennai-like-pitch at kanpur, this SA team looks all set to make it 2-0 or may be 1-0.

As usual, our fragiles fan base gets worked out everytime India lose a match. Relax, one bad session does not make a team. Anil Kumble was keen on gifting a test match to the Saffers, no wonder his decision to bat on a green pitch in Ahmedabad. This SAF team was recently beaten by a weak west indies at home. Can you believe that? This is also the SAF same team that scored 84 against us in their own conditions (Wanderers 2006 December). The SAFFers have always had a weak mindset and that was visible in Kanpur. No wonder they are often called the biggest chokkers in world sport (OK, maybe the All Blacks and now Chelsea). I see the Aussies thrashing the Saffers at home. 4-0 Lastly, India has not given up on Test cricket. That is the silliest argument on the planet. Crowds have visited all the test matches in large numbers, people continue to follow test cricket on TV, newspapers and online and everybody hopes this team will be number 1. Also, India is playing 22 test matches during the next 15 months. More than any other team. In fact during the last 11 months India played 15 test matches. That does not show a drop in interest, does it?