newlands and old challenge

The Cape of Good Hope is not far from Newlands. If one crosses the Table Mountains that lie gigantically next to the stadium, it then opens up into Pacific waters.

Though the locals originally called it the Cape of Storms, King John II of Portugal renamed it as Cape of Good Hope, because it provided the world an opening for a sea route to the East, and to India.
It is indeed quite fitting that the Men in Blue will start their tour not far away from the Cape of Good Hope.

Their No 1 Test ranking has spawned great optimism and hope that they that they can create a new world order, one that their golden generation could only dream about. They have been No 1 in Tests before, but they haven’t been consistent overseas. That is what head coach Ravi Shastri wants to achieve: become the first Indian side to dominate wherever they play.

India have come here with their tails up, having lost only two Tests in two years. They don’t have series loss since January 2015. This optimism is what spurred the host broadcaster in India to term this series as a revenge of sorts, pointing out that no Indian team has ever won a Test series in South Africa.
But here in South Africa, the promotion — for what is being billed as the biggest Test series in recent times — is on the lines of the freedom struggle that both the nations were a part of.

The advertisement, made by Cricket South Africa, takes you through pre-Apartheid years and Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence movement, and asks fans to celebrate the “Freedom Trophy”, one that the two teams will vie for.

If South Africa took inspiration from India’s freedom movement, India have a chance to take inspiration from South Africa’s cricketing front. Up until they defeated South Africa 3-0 at home on square turners, the Proteas were the unbeatable ones.

In fact, that loss was South Africa’s first away from home in nine years. Since then, they have not lost a Test at home and away to England, and they managed to upstage Australia in their own backyard.
If India are entering the series with rejuvenated optimism, South Africa do seem to have a score or two to settle. On Wednesday, their pacer Vernon Philander — who is expected to be huge threat for India thanks to his nagging line and length — warned the visitors with these words: “They have won everything in India. But it is a different story here.”

Some may be inclined to dismiss this statement as a one-off remark, but South Africa captain Faf du Plessis laid that line of thought to rest on Thursday.

“It’s good that we can have some importance for this series. Big series are the reason behind why you play. We don’t have an Ashes, so it’s good to see that India-South Africa has started becoming a really big. There are some really high-class players who are going to bash it out over the next four weeks. So, that’s exciting. We were disappointed the last time we went there. We’ve got a score to settle, so we’re excited for this series.”

Looking to change the tide for the Proteas is Du Plessis, a captain who is very different as compared to the likes of Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers.

A tough customer who likes to marshal his men more as a leader rather than a captain, Du Plessis is heading his team to a new era, where in the not-so-distant future they will be without three of their last-decade mainstays: De Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn.

“The next two or three years are going to be very exciting for South African cricket. We are maturing a lot more, both the ODI and the Test team,” said Du Plessis. “If you look at the names we have available for this series, it’s a very strong team on paper. I’d like to look at it for the next three years. We need to push really hard to get to No 1 and stay there for quite a bit.”

venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com