Smith and Co. ready for Indian challenge
Nagpur, Feb. 1: Graeme Smith’s South Africa open their tour of India on Tuesday with a practice match ahead of their bid to dislodge the hosts as the number one Test nation.
The tourists take on the Indian board president’s XI in a two-day match in Nagpur before the first Test begins at the new Vidarbha Cricket Association ground on the outskirts of the city on Saturday.
The two-Test series — the second match will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from February 14 — could be one of the most important the Proteas have played in recent years.
The second-ranked South Africa need a 2-0 series win to displace India from the top. A 1-0 result in favour of the tourists will leave both teams level on 123 rating points. South Africa were rattled last week by the resignation of long-time coach Mickey Arthur over what he said were differences with Cricket South Africa on the future course of action.
The entire selection committee, headed by former Test all-rounder Mike Procter, was also sacked following a 1-1 series draw to England at home.
National high performance coach Corrie van Zyl has taken over from Arthur for the Indian tour, which includes three one-day internationals after the Tests. Skipper Smith was, however, confident the team would recover from the recent setbacks and perform well. Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma will lead the President’s XI side, who also have young players like paceman Abhimanyu Mithun — included in the first Test — Manpreet Gony and Shikhar Dhawan. It will also be a test for Rohit and Piyush Chawla to reclaim their spots in the Indian squad after being in and out of the team for sometime. — Agencies
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