It’s not really prompted South Africa to dole out any favours though. There have been seven series between the two teams in South Africa, six of which have been won by the hosts while India managed a creditable 1-1 draw in the 2010-11 series.

As India embark on another tour to South Africa—consisting of three Tests starting December 26 followed by three ODIs—the objective is clear: win the Test series and banish the disappointment that previous journeys might have evoked. If they can do so on the back of their heroics in Australia, it will lend further heft to the current generation’s endeavour of leaving an unparalleled legacy in Indian cricket.

The onus though will be on the batters. Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta, who made his Test debut in South Africa in 2001 and managed to score 63 against the likes of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini in his second Test, explains why.

“The conditions in South Africa are a little unique. It is actually a combination of England and Australia. There is the swing factor of England and the pace and bounce of Australia. That makes it very challenging for the batters. There may not be as much pace and bounce as in Australia but it is still a hefty challenge because there is also sideways movement to deal with,” Dasgupta says.

DRAVID’S LINK

It’s not for nothing that Rahul Dravid, blessed with a watertight defence and enormous patience during his international career, averaged just 29.71 with one century in 22 innings in South Africa. He is head coach now and will precisely know the size of the challenge awaiting India’s batters. While South Africa may not have Dale Steyn in their pace attack any longer, backed ably by Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, there is potency in the combination of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Duanne Olivier and Lungi Ngidi to cause discomfort.

There is a strong argument to rate the Indian bowling unit as much better than that of the hosts. Jasprit Bumrah, who announced his arrival on the Test scene in South Africa in 2018, will lead an attack that also has the shrewdness of Mohammed Shami, the ceaseless energy of Mohammed Siraj and the guile of off-spinner R Ashwin. The series is likely to boil down then to which batting unit is able to eke out more runs.

“India need to bat well. We have got the fast-bowling attack to take 20 wickets and there’s Ashwin as well. But India have to get 350-400 runs consistently. If they can do that, India have a great chance of winning the series,” says ex-India opener Wasim Jaffer.

Jaffer can speak with some authority on batting in South Africa given that he is the only Indian opener to score a Test century there (Virender Sehwag’s debut hundred came as a middle-order batter). That century—116 in Cape Town—came in the third Test of the 2006-07 tour. He also played in the first Test of that series when India notched up their maiden win on South African soil.

He looks back fondly on the tour now even if there is a tinge of regret over the collapse in the second innings in Cape Town, which meant that South Africa clinched a hard-fought series 2-1. “A century in a winning cause would have been even sweeter.”

CLOSE SERIES

The series scoreline in 2018—India’s last tour—was likewise. It was billed as India’s best chance at ending their series drought in South Africa, but familiar issues with the bat and scant preparation time was their undoing.

By the time India got acclimatised to the conditions, South Africa had taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. While the victory in the third Test in Johannesburg on a nasty, capricious surface was one of India’s gutsiest ever alright, it was little consolation in the larger scheme of things.

Jaffer attributes another factor for success proving elusive in South Africa. Unlike series in England or Australia these days where there are chances of a comeback for an Indian team that carries the perennial tag of slow starters, India’s assignments in South Africa are generally three-match affairs.

“We don’t play 4 or 5 Tests in SA. We usually play only 3 Tests. That has been the pattern. That has also been a factor in India not winning a series in SA,” Jaffer says.

As Dasgupta notes, the 2-1 scoreline in favour of South Africa last time perhaps doesn’t do justice to how close India were in the opening two Tests. “India have more experience. I do think they will win the series,” he says.

With South Africa’s batting unit considerably weaker at least on paper—AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla have all retired—there can be no excuses this time around.

“We have won in England a few times before and twice now in Australia. A series win in SA is now the main barrier for the current team to come through. That is the challenge for this team to achieve,” says Jaffer.