Stat Alert: Why Amla’s South Africa Could be a Cakewalk for India

11 South Africans in the squad, who have a total of 129 Test caps between them - have played just 2 Tests in India.

• SA haven’t lost an away Test series in nearly nine years but this time, it’s different
  
• 11 players in SA squad have played a combined 2 Tests in India before
• 10 of the 15 players in the Proteas squad are yet to play a Test in India
• SA’s Test skipper Hashim Amla’s highest score in this entire tour of India is 37

Just going by statistics, South Africa should be runaway favourites to win the forthcoming Test series against India. They are ranked number one in the ICC Test rankings. No visiting side has won more Test matches in India in the last twenty years than South Africa.

What’s more, the Proteas boast of two batsmen in the top five of the ICC Test rankings, they have the top-ranked bowler in the ICC Test rankings, and to top it all, they haven’t lost a Test series on the road in nearly nine years.

So, should Virat Kohli be worried about how the numbers stack up in favour of the opposition? Not necessarily.

A quick glance at the squad South Africa have chosen for the Test series in India, and one will realise they aren’t as formidable as their reputation and statistics make them to be. They still have match-winners in their ranks no doubt, but that’s only a handful of names in a squad of 15.

Leaving aside the four proven match-winners – namely Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn - the South Africans need to make up their playing XI from the remaining 11 players in the squad who have a total of 129 Test caps between them and a combined experience of 2 Test matches in India. Ten of the 15 players in the Proteas squad are yet to play a Test match in Indian conditions, and that could be turn out to be a huge disability for Amla’s side in their quest to conquer the ‘Final Frontier’.

Tournaments like the Indian Premier League and the Champions League T20 have certainly helped players from other nations get accustomed to Indian conditions – but that is more often limited to the temperature, humidity levels, pollution levels, varied food menus and noisy crowds.

Test matches bring a whole new challenge – the playing surface. In the longest format, pitches in India can vary from rarely being green tops to being placid surfaces, or from generally being spinner-friendly surfaces to occasionally being dust bowls. And to succeed on surfaces where the ball can grip, spin and bounce, one needs to be extremely talented, be extremely lucky or have loads of experience of playing on such tracks. The South African bowlers won’t have it easy too – for bowling with the SG Test ball calls for a special skill – which they couldn’t have mastered in these last ten days or so.

What should also worry the South African camp is the form of their captain Hashim Amla, who is one of the pillars of the team. Amla, who enjoys a fabulous record against India – especially in India – hasn’t been as fluent in recent times.

Since setting foot in India, Amla has had a highest score of 37 in eight innings – including an outing in the warm-up match against Board President’s XI. Poor form along with the added pressures of captaincy might just make the forthcoming series Amla’s biggest challenge yet.

The 32-year old does not have the luxury that some of his predecessors had – in terms of quality and experienced players in the ranks – to share the burdens of captaincy. How the 32-year old manages to extract the best out of a vastly inexperienced team while remaining unaffected as a batsman could determine which way the series ends up for his team.

Given all these facts, should the odds be in favour of South Africa? Certainly not! Should this South African team give Virat Kohli and the rest of the management team sleepless nights? Hell no!