Nagpur, India – To the global traveller, Nagpur doesn’t leap out at you as a place for new beginnings. It doesn’t scream revival, return to form or rekindling, but it will have to be just that for South Africa this week.
It is known as the “Centre of India”, and that is not a commercial gimmick, either. Literally, the very centre-point of this vast, fascinating country is found in its city of oranges, for which the region is world famous.
Here, among all this history and production, the Proteas will look to preserve their own slice of history, and their malfunctioning batting card will look to find its touch again.
To this point, AB de Villiers – and to an extent, Dean Elgar – aside, the tourists have been distinctly underwhelming.
It has been surprising to see an experienced middle-order prove so brittle, especially on territory they have previously thrived on.
India can’t believe their luck, and even the disappointment of not being able to push for a result in Bangalore hasn’t dulled their sense of expectation.
Having started the series as underdogs, the hosts are now chipper and find themselves on the verge of doing something that no one has managed to do in nine years – defeat a travelling South African Test side.
For the neutral watching on quizzically, the hardest part to digest is that South Africa haven’t been blown away by huge scores.
They have fallen victim to a catalogue of batting brain-farts and allowed India’s spinners to bowl with more confidence, and skipper Virat Kohli to set more attacking fields.
It has been a sudden and serious jolt to an unusual reality after the sanguine nature of the one-day series, as well as the T20 stuff that started this epic tour.
“We expect to play better cricket but we are still very much in the series,” Proteas coach Russell Domingo explained before the team left Bangalore.
“Our batting needs to improve and we are well aware of that. Bangalore was a good wicket, so there are no excuses. We just need to play a lot better to compete in the next two Tests,” he added.
Domingo also pointed out that, despite being 1-0 down, he didn’t feel his side had been outplayed.
It’s more their failings, as opposed to India’s triumphs, that have led to them being behind in the series.
“I think the series has been evenly contested. Both teams didn’t play that well and we know if we play to our potential, we are in with a good chance.”
Domingo also dismissed any notion of Kohli’s side going on the defensive, looking to preserve their handy lead with two matches to go.
“I don’t think he is that type of guy. The way he plays is the way he captains – aggressively. We have played on result wickets so far and I am sure that will continue.”
Of course, the Proteas who were here in 2010, will have fond memories of Nagpur. Even then, they were in early trouble, but they then found a way to fight back and go on to win the contest.
“I wasn’t there on that tour but I remember South Africa being 6/2 and (Jacques) Kallis getting 160 and (Hashim) Amla getting 250 to give the team a comfortable win in the backend,” Domingo smiled.
“The side in general have good memories from the particular venue. We are going to have to play well, India are playing good cricket at the moment.”
For Domingo, the final two matches of the Test tour are also an opportunity for the clot of new blood in the side to show what they have learnt over the course of four days of Test cricket in these conditions.
“We have a lot of inexperienced players who hadn’t played in India before, so hopefully they will have learnt a lot of lessons from these first two matches.”
Lesson time is over for the Proteas, especially the middle-order. They are the engine-room, central to everything South Africa achieve. They dictate the tempo of the innings and ultimately, the outcome of every match.
Here, in the very centre of India, they must find themselves again.
– THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT