da cassino： Cricinfo takes a look at some of the key contests that might well decide the fate of the three-match series.
da 888casino： Dileep Premachandran at Johannesburg14-Dec-2006
Sachin Tendulkar’s tussle with Dale Steyn may be the one to watch out for © Getty Images
Ahead of this Test series, there are some things that don’t require special powers of prognosis: like Makhaya Ntini taking wickets – he has 176 from 35 home Tests at an average of 22.83 – and Rahul Dravid making runs. But you sense that the clinching factor could well be how some of the other big names go in head-to-head tussles. South Africa will start overwhelming favourites,but, as Dravid reiterated at the pre-match press conference, there’s enough quality in the Indian dressing room to hurt any team. Here, Cricinfo takes a look at some of the key contests that might well decide the fate of the three-match series.Graeme Smith v Zaheer KhanIf you went by numbers alone, you’d be inclined to scoff and ask: Whatcontest? Zaheer has just three wickets, all from one innings at Kolkatatwo seasons ago, in three Tests against South Africa, and the average isan unflattering 92.66. Since returning to the side at the start of theone-day series, though, he has bowled as well as he did before the hamstringinjury in Brisbane (2003) sent his career off the rails.Smith has 155 runs at 38.75 in two Tests against the Indians, including abrave 71 in a lost cause at the Eden Gardens, but he was as hapless as adrunk on ice when faced with Zaheer’s incoming deliveries in the one-dayseries. The opening hour or two of each innings could well set the tonefor the series, and a rejuvenated Zaheer currently has the upper hand.Smith: 2 4 0 155 71 47 37 38.75 0 1Zaheer: 3 97.4 278 3 3/64 3/86 92.66 2.84 195.3Sachin Tendulkar v Dale SteynThis is the ultimate clash – the weather-beaten old champion against theeager young pretender. Tendulkar has little left to achieve in the game,but his record against South Africa suggests in no uncertain terms thatthey have troubled him more than any other side. He did play two of thefinest knocks seen on South African soil, the breathtaking 169 at Newlands(1996-97) and the delightfully inventive 155 at Bloemfontein (2001-02),but in 16 Tests overall, he has just 1003 runs at 37.14.Steyn has just eight Test caps, but his unbridled pace makes him theperfect shock tactic. He can be wayward and erratic, but when he gets itright, no one likes it. He combined with Ntini to rout New Zealand atCenturion earlier this year, taking 5 for 47, and worried the Sri Lankansin Colombo, taking 5 for 82 in a 13-over spell that veered fromsensational to atrocious every so often. Tendulkar has been hit on thebody and helmet a few times this past season and, if the South Africansscent a frailty against genuine pace, it will be Steyn who they send infor the kill.Tendulkar: 16 29 2 1003 169 155 111 37.14 3 3Steyn: 8 271.5 1124 32 5/47 7/134 35.12 4.13 50.9Jacques Kallis v Anil KumbleKallis is South Africa’s answer to Dravid, a solid technician with theability to play strokes all around the wicket. Seldom found wanting in acrisis, he has frequently thwarted India, averaging 82.71 over six Tests.Even the small contributions, like the 36 not out in Mumbai (1999-2000),have been invaluable ones. While the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and AB deVilliers might look to give Kumble the charge, Kallis is likely to beentrusted with the task of wearing him down.Kumble himself is the master of the slow choke, applying pressurerelentlessly until the opponent submits. He has 66 wickets at 31.57 from16 matches against South Africa, and he first gave glimpses of his uncannyability here 14 years ago, taking 6 for 53 from 44 overs of non-stopprobing. With both men possessing the gift of patience in abundance, itwill be fascinating to see who blinks first.Kallis: 6 579 121 82.71 1 4 10 3/30 28.70Kumble: 16 906.2 2084 66 6/53 8/113 31.57 2.29 82.3Sourav Ganguly v Shaun PollockOn the face of it, considering Ganguly’s mediocre displays against SouthAfrica (522 runs at 27.47) and Pollock’s stellar performances againstIndia (39 wickets at 20.84), this should be a mismatch. But, as he showedin Potchefstroom in the tour game, Ganguly is a man with everything toprove, most of all to himself. The South Africans have been using thewounded tiger phrase glibly, but some are pretty wary of what this proudman might be able to achieve if his strength of will can overcomeperceived weaknesses against fast bowling.Down the years, no one has exploited those frailties as ruthlessly asPollock, who has dismissed Ganguly six times (in addition to scalpingDravid four times and VVS Laxman thrice). His 10 for 147 won South Africathe Bloemfontein Test in 2001, despite centuries from Tendulkar andVirender Sehwag, and if India cannot deal with deliveries that shape away andjag back from just short of a length, their litany of woe in the Cape willonly continue.Ganguly: 11 522 73 27.47 0 3 5 2/36 42.00Pollock: 9 349.5 813 39 6/56 10/147 20.84 2.32 53.8X-factor: SehwagThat seems to be a funny thing to say about a man who could barely put batto ball in the one-day games, but Sehwag the Test player is a differentcreature. Since his debut here five years ago, Sehwag has seldom had apoor series, and even this relatively lean year has seen stunningcenturies at Lahore and St. Lucia. When he bats with trademarkhigh-voltage intensity, he can eviscerate any attack. The problem now isto find the switch and flick it on.
