Indian cricket team’s 50 days tour of South Africa will start from 16th December 2010 with the first test match of the 3-match Test series that will take place at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. It will end on 23rd January 2010 with the final ODI match between them. Moreover, both India and South Africa will face each other to play only Twenty20 international and a 5-match ODI series besides the Test series. It is perhaps going to be the last full packed series for both India and South Africa before the 2011 ICC World Cup.
It is going to be a tough series for both Indian and South African cricket teams as they are holding the first and second spots respectively in ICC Test Team ranking. This series has become a big challenge for the touring team to make a new record after winning a test series as they have never won a test series in South Africa.
On the other hand, the host team will try their best to continue their dominance on their home ground. It will be interesting to see if Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team can bring cheer in the mind of millions of Indian fans.
| Date | Teams | Time | Venue |
| December 16-20, 2010 | South Africa vs India- 1st Test | GMT 8:30 Local Time 10:30 Indian Standard Time 14:00 | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
| December 26-30, 2010 | South Africa vs India- 2nd Test | GMT 08:00 Local Time 10:00 Indian Standard Time 13:30 | Kingsmead, Durban |
| January 2-6, 2010 | South Africa vs India- 3rd Test | GMT 08:30 Local Time 10:30 Indian Standard Time 14:00 | Newlands, Cape Town |
| January 9, 2010 | South Africa vs India- T20 International | GMT 12:30 Local Time 14:30 Indian Standard Time 18:00 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |
| January 12, 2010 | South Africa vs India-1st ODI | GMT 12:30 Local Time 14:30 Indian Standard Time 18:00 | Kingsmead, Durban |
| January 15, 2010 | South Africa vs India-2nd ODI | GMT 12:30 Local Time 14:30 Indian Standard Time 18:00 | New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg |
| January 18, 2010 | South Africa vs India- 3rd ODI | GMT 12:30 Local Time 14:30 Indian Standard Time 18:00 | Newlands, Cape Town |
| January 21, 2010 | South Africa vs India- 4th ODI | GMT 12:30 Local Time 14:30 Indian Standard Time 18:00 | St George's Park, Port Elizabeth |
| January 23, 2010 | South Africa vs India-5th ODI | GMT 08:00 Local Time 10:00 Indian Standard Time 13:30 | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
Indian cricket team is in now in good form after getting two back-to-back comprehensive series wins against Australia and New Zealand at home. It will inspire them carry on their performance and cement their top position in Test ranking. On the other hand, South Africa finished their recently concluded Test series against Pakistan with a draw.
Dhoni and his teammates will have to struggle hard to play in the South African pitches as it favors the bowlers most of the time.
The South African pitches generally have pace and bounce that will help the fast bowlers to take the dominance. On the other hand, SuperSport Park is different than other playing grounds as it is considered to support batsmen too along with bowlers. It will be interesting to see if batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir can successfully face the challenge from the most successful opening spell pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
South Africa seems to be a strong favorite. All of their batsmen are now in excellent form. It will obviously be a difficult task for Indian fast bowlers to put the host team under pressure.
It seems that injury is the big opponent for the Proteas. Most of their key players are facing uncertainty to take part in the forthcoming test series. Proteas captain, Graeme Smith, is in the top of the injury list. He fractured his ring finger of his left hand in the first ODI against Pakistan in the recently concluded series in Abu Dhabi. Hashim Amla is another star player who is also not sure about his playing against India. He struck his left forearm while fielding at short leg in the second test against Pakistan. The news of their injury will boost Indian team to perform well.
India largely depends on the performance of their top order batsmen to conquer the series. Hard hitting opening batsman, Virender Sehwag, will have to play an important role to put the Proteas pacers under pressure from the beginning of the series. Gautam Gambhir has made his perfect return to form after scoring back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in the recently concluded ODI series. He will be the perfect partner for Virender Sehwag in the opening stand. The inclusion of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni has made the Indian side much stronger on paper.
Young and promising players like Suresh Raina can also play vital role and master his ability to play the short pitched delivery. Indian selectors keep faith on new face like Wriddhiman Saha and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have the experience of playing only one test match.
Indian bowlers have always been criticized for their poor performance. It is the time to see if bowlers can help the team to clinch the series. Zaheer Khan will lead the bowling department with Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth.
Two new faces, Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav, have been included in the squad. Jaidev Unadkat, nineteen year old, impressed the selectors showing his good bowling performance in the under-19 team.
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