JOHANNESBURG // On two excessively different halves of on Wednesday, South Africa and India prepared for the first one-day international by training in exactly the sort of conditions they would prefer to play in.
When South Africa hit the nets in the morning, it was just after a sharp shower, there was plenty of cloud cover and a steady breeze brew across the Wanderers. India’s afternoon session was in proper summer conditions, and the ball pinged off the middle of the bat with regularity.
The battle lines were drawn in earnest when AB de Villiers, South Africa’s captain, was asked if his team might start as the underdogs in this three-match ODI series.
“There is no way we are going to stand back and allow that to happen,” said de Villiers.
“There is no way we can allow us to be called underdogs. If we play to our full potential, there is no one in the world who can stop us. We are playing against a subcontinental team in our conditions. They have a very bad record here.”
A mild-mannered man who has many friends in India, thanks to his time in the Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, De Villiers is not the sort to make off-the-cuff remarks.
He was merely stating a fact when referring to India’s record in South Africa, given that the team has never won a bilateral ODI series in the Rainbow Nation.
India have played 25 ODIs in South Africa leading into this series, winning only five and losing 19, with one match rained out.
That bit of trivia was put to MS Dhoni, and understandably, it was not something he wanted to dwell on.
“Before you asked me, that was not on my mind,” he said. “I will try and make sure it doesn’t stay in my mind.
“Yes, we haven’t done well here, but there have been instances in the past, like the last time we came here, when we had a good opportunity to win the series but did not cash in.
“It’s not about who are favourites, rather, how you play on the day.”
Dhoni conceded that the biggest challenge for his team is not historical baggage, but how quickly they adapt to the conditions on offer.
“I think one of the big challenges is to get used to the pace and bounce,” he said. “If you are new to the international circuit, it becomes more of a challenge. The reason being, in India even on the best of pitches, you don’t get the same kind of pace or the same kind of bowlers. Some of the players who have been playing for the last few seasons, and have had a decent outing all over the world and have come to the same venue, they will know exactly how the conditions will be.
“That gives them the edge to adapt quickly. At the end of the day, experience counts.”
What makes it doubly difficult to adapt to the conditions is the fact that they are changing all the time.
Typically, at this time of the year in Johannesburg, the mornings are clear and hot, leading into showers and nippy evenings. The rain that is hanging around, however, has changed all that. There is a degree of unpredictability over how to approach things.
“The guys are quite familiar with the conditions out here. I still feel South Africa is one place where a lot depends on how the wicket is prepared and how the overhead conditions are, whether it is overcast or a bright sunny day,” Dhoni said.
“Overall, a lot will depend on how the conditions are on that particular day.”
A day before the game, the Wanderers was dressing itself in pink, an initiative in support of breast-cancer awareness.
South Africa’s players wore pink pads and helmets when they batted in the nets, and the only other time they played in support of this cause, they beat Pakistan comfortably.
India will hope that this is just another statistic to overturn, another historical record that needs correction.
In a three-match series, there is no elbow room in which to manoeuvre, and the team that loses the first match will find themselves under additional pressure.
South Africa come into the series having lost at home to Pakistan for the first time in their proud history.
They will do all they can to avoid a repeat against India.
‘Love and respect’ at the heart of it
India and South Africa do not have a traditional rivalry in the Ashes mould, and this has had one spectacularly good fall out.
Apart from the odd on-field silliness sparked by especially livewire characters, such as when Sreesanth and Andre Nel squared off in the 2006/07 tour, games have been marked by tough cricket and yet a fair amount of goodwill.
While there has been chirp on the field, as is always the case when two competitive sides face each other at the highest level, lines have rarely been crossed. De Villiers and Dhoni underscored this, when they addressed the media ahead of the three-match ODI series.
“We all have a lot of love and respect for the South African players,” Dhoni said. “Whenever we have played a series against them it has been a tough series, but you will hardly see instances where individuals cross the line. Yes, you will have a picture in mind of the 2006 series, but it was two individuals, and they shared what they had in mind.”
For his part, De Villiers gave the India team the due they deserved.
“It’s a similar team that won the Champions Trophy. They are the deserved No 1 team at the moment,” De Villiers said of India’s ODl outfit.
“All-round good side but their strength lies in their batting. The kind of scores they posted in the last while have been very good. I feel we have the skill to counter that.”
But the chat was not all lovey-dovey. De Villiers was quick to point out that India did have weaknesses that could be exploited.
“They are certainly not the best bowling attack in the world,” De Villiers said. “Sometimes batters think they can get on top of them. It’s an area where we feel we can get on top of them. Try not to lose too many wickets upfront.”
What helps India, however, is that South Africa are perhaps not quite as much on the front foot as in past visits to the country.
“We are under pressure here in our own country,” De Villiers said.
“We just lost a series so confidence is not hugely high. I still have confidence in the guys that we can beat the No 1 team.
“There are a lot of factors that play a part in us wanting to perform well.
“We are playing against the No 1 team here at the Wanderers, it’s as big as it gets.”
Anand Vasu is managing editor of Wisden India.
sports@thenational.ae