India vs South Africa: Who is saying what ahead of first Test in Cape Town

As the No 1 Test team, India is set to take on South Africa in the first Test starting January 5 in Cape Town. All eyes will be on Team India as they ended the 2017 season with 9 Test series victories on the trot and would hope to continue their run.

This is going to be a tough battle for Virat Kohli & Co as they have never won a Test series in South Africa since they first toured the African nation in 1992. In 2010-11, they managed to level the series 1-1.

With just about 48 hours to go for the first of the three-match series, several current and former players have given their comments, advise and reactions. Take a look:

Former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar

“… A lot depends on how we (Indian players) tackle the new ball. If we (Indian players) handle the new ball well then we can actually set the pace for the innings. Discipline and getting runs on the board is the key.”

South Africa coach Ottis Gibson

“They are currently ranked number one and they’ve got a lot of world class players. I think they will travel a lot better now. We know for sure that it is going to be a tough series. I don’t think you’re going to see them fold as much as they may have done in the past.”

Indian batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara

“…Most of our players have been here before. I have been here in 2010/11 and 2013/14. It is about knowing your game and knowing the conditions. When you have played on such pitches, you know what you want to do as a batsman and as a team.”

Indian bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

“…The first thing that comes to our mind about bowling in South Africa is bouncy wickets, seaming wickets. But you can’t be sure we are going to get such wickets. When it comes to bowlers, Kookaburra is one of the toughest balls to bowl with as it doesn’t do much after 25-30 overs, these are the kind of situations we are tackling with.”

Former South African fast bowler, Allan Donald

Allan Donald recently opined that Proteas need to play an all-pace attack against India at Newlands, Cape Town. This means Proteas attack may feature Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.

Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly

“…I don’t think this tour will test Virat Kohli as a batsman but it will test him as captain. Kohli has got to play a different game and hopefully, Ravi (Shastri) will help him with the captaincy. Be a bit patient with the spinners, fast bowlers will have to do their job.”