SA vs India, Test: Visitors' strength lies in their bowling, says Dean Elgar

Centurion: South Africa captain Dean Elgar feels that the strength of the Indian Test team lies in their bowling attack.

India and South Africa will lock horns in three Tests and three ODIs. The first Test will begin on December 26 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. “Their strength at the moment lies in their bowling. We are extremely aware of that as well. They’ve had a lot of successes as a bowling unit. They’ve got a lot of older spearhead bowlers that lead the attack and have got a good backup set of bowlers as well,” said Dean Elgar during a virtual press conference.

“And being in South Africa, I’m pretty sure their bowling attack will exploit the conditions reasonably well. Just knowing that we have our seamers and we’ve got a little bit of pace and bounce and the wickets maybe do a little bit more in South Africa than it does anywhere else around the world,” he added.

The Proteas skipper also said that his side holds the edge in the upcoming three Tests against India as they have the advantage of home ground.

“I think it’s pretty even-stevens. Us playing at home, obviously, gives us a little bit of an upper hand. They are ranked No. 1 in the world; we can’t look at that. That’s something they have been for quite some time, in my opinion – just my being a cricket watcher and a cricket fan,” said the Proteas skipper.

“You can’t give them the credit for what they have done over the last while. So, I am not going to sit here and say they are not the best side in the world because there’s a ranking system for a reason. But the mere fact that we’re playing in our backyard gives us still the upper hand going into the series,” he added.

The Test series between India and South Africa will form part of the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. The updated schedule is as follows: First Test will take place from December 26-30 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion; Second Test will take place from January 3-7, 2022, at the Wanderers, Johannesburg; Third Test will take place from January 11-15, 2022, at the Newlands, Cape Town.

The first ODI will take place on January 19, 2022, at the Boland Park, Paarl; Second ODI will take place on January 21, 2022, at the Boland Park, Paarl; The Third ODI will take place on January 23, 2022, at the Newlands, Cape Town.