Eyes on Ottis as Proteas seek revenge over India
● It is an odd twist of fate that Ottis Gibson’s first serious assessment as Proteas coach is at the ground where he played his last test.
Not that he’ll have fond memories of the fourth of five tests of the 1998/99 West Indies tour when the islanders were whitewashed 5-0 in the tests and lost the one day internationals (ODIS) 6-1.
Gibson had an unremarkable outing (match figures: 44.4-6-143/1 and 50 off 137 in both innings) as South Africa cruised to a 149-run win.
But with their aggressive, street-smart captain Virat Kohli and cunning coach Ravi Shastri, India will be a far more difficult proposition. On paper, this is one India side that is best equipped for overseas conquests.
They have all-weather batsmen — Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara — who have got runs in South Africa. This well-rounded batting group, led by Kohli, could prosper on the pace and bounce of South Africa’s surfaces.
Their potential pace attack — Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Buvneshwar Kumar — is a mix of pace and controlled lateral movement.
India have yet to win a test series in South Africa, even though they showed the necessary aptitude when they won in Johannesburg in 2006 and Durban four years later.
They have only two survivors from the 87run win in Sharma and Pujara, with the latter prospering in the shortened 2013/14 series.
Despite the challenge of having to almost entirely rebuild since then, the current India team have the variety of skills needed for winning this three-test series, and have a solid home record under Kohli.
The measure of any Asian side is how they have fared on the road. No Asian side has beaten South Africa at home and a South African team finding its feet could be there for the taking.
But Gibson has his own batting and bowling arsenals that could disturb India. After that, however, he will have to face up to the vengeful Australians, who land in March.
The series against India can also be seen as a revenge mission, considering the mental scarring the South African batsmen received from India’s spinners and the questionable surfaces in Mohali and Nagpur.
The returning AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma (if he doesn’t make way for AB) and Hashim Amla aren’t forgiving types. After all, what’s test cricket without an intriguing subplot? So long as there’s no war talk, which will be brought by Steven Smith and his battle-hardened troops — and the pace battery who are busy dismantling England — cricket’s a pretty peaceful game.
How South Africa quell the Indian threat will speak volumes for how they will approach Australia. Since becoming Proteas coach, Gibson has won all four tests played, besting Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Will he manage a “magnificent seven” test victories on the trot? Only time will tell.