SA to target skipper Dhoni

“He’s earned his respect with the way he has performed. He seems to be a good, controlled leader of men,” the South African skipper said of his Indian counterpart. “We see him as a key figure in their side. Obviously, he carries a lot of responsibility. If we can create pressure on him, maybe we can open up a few chinks. Certainly, he is a guy we would like to keep under pressure throughout the tour.”

Smith also sought to feed off the absence through injury of Rahul Dravid, and the potential unavailability of VVS Laxman, suggesting that Virender Sehwag would have to play with a ‘lot of responsibility’.

“Guys like Laxman and Rahul are quality players with a huge amount of experience,” the left-handed opener observed. “They not only bring experience, they bring a lot of calmness to the Indian team. The guys who have replaced them are good players but from our perspective, there is an opportunity. It certainly puts pressure on Gambhir and Sehwag up front to take up a little bit more responsibility. They know they don’t have a guy with 10,000 runs at number three, the rock of the line-up. The responsibility on Sehwag especially is crucial.”

The Protean acknowledged that his fast bowlers will have a crucial role to play. “We have to adapt our skills to the conditions we face, but it is also important that we play our style of cricket. We have seen the success seam bowlers have had over here. We have got good pace through the air which, from a reverse-swinging perspective, is crucial. If they can focus on what they can control and perform their role to the environment, they will go a long way to providing the link to our success.”

South Africa have been slow starters to a Test series and in a two-Test contest, that could be decisive. “You need to be a lot more precise in the first Test. There is no way to get back in the series if you allow things to slip. I know we haven’t started series that well of late, so the first Test is the key for us tomorrow.”


India-S Africa number games

 First match: At Durban on Nov 13, 1992. Match drawn.
 Last match: At Kanpur on Apr 11, 2008. India won by 8 wkts.
Total matches played: 22. Won by India: 5; Won by S Africa: 10; Drawn: 7.
 In India: Played: 10; Won by India: 4; Won by S Africa: 4; Drawn: 2.
 Total series played 8: Won by India: 2; Won by S Africa: 5; Drawn: 1.
Highest totals for India in India: 627 at Chennai in Mar2008. Match drawn. In S Africa: 414 at Cape Town in Jan 2007. India lost by five wkts. For S Africa in India: 540 at Chennai in Mar 2008. Match drawn. In S Africa: 563 at Bloemfontein in Nov 2001. S Africa won by 9 wkts.
 Lowest totals for India in India: 113 at Mumbai in Feb 2000. Lost by 4 wkts. In S Africa: 66 at Durban in Dec 1996. Lost by 328 runs. Lowest total for S Africa in India: 105 at Ahmedabad in Nov 1996. Lost by 64 runs. Lowest total for India in S Africa: 84 at Johannesburg in Dec 2006. Lost by 123 runs.
 Most runs in the series for India: Sachin Tendulkar: 1202 runs in 20 matches. Avg 36.42. For S Africa: Jacques Kallis: 884 runs in 11 matches, avg 55.25.
n Highest individual score for India in India: 319 by Sehwag at Chennai on Mar 28, 2008. In S Africa: 169 by Tendulkar at Cape Town on Jan 4, 1997. For S Africa in India: 217 by AB de Villiers at Ahmedabad on Apr 3, 2008. In S Africa: 196 by Herschelle Gibbs at Port Elizabeth on Nov 16, 2001.  
 Most wickets for India: 84 by A Kumble (21 mts, Avg 31.79; Best: 6/53). For SA: 57 by A Donald (11 mts, Avg 17.31; Best 7/84).
n Best bowling in a match for India in India: 9/141 by Harbhajan Singh at Kolkata in Nov 2004. In S Africa: 10/153 by Venkatesh Prasad at Durban in Dec 1996. For S Africa in India: 8/139 by Lance Klusener at Kolkata in Nov 1996. In S Africa: 12/139 by Donald at Port Elizabeth in Dec 1992.

By KR Gururaja Rao