Batting great Sachin Tendulkar said that India’s success or failure will hinge on how they tackle the new ball in South Africa. Tendulkar said that India will need to have a good Day 1 as that can then help them pace the innings. “It all depends on how you do on Day One,” he said, “The first spell is going to be very critical. A lot depends on how we tackle the new ball. If we handle the new ball well then we can actually set the pace for the innings. Getting runs on the board is the key.”

This will be the first time since the end of Apartheid that India tour South Africa without Tendulkar in the squad. Tendulkar said that it didn’t take for the team led by Mohammad Azharuddin to understand the challenge they were facing in 1992. “When we went to South Africa for the first time, it didn’t take us long to realise what was coming our way. From the first game itself we realised the level of cricket they were playing. For instance, the warm-up game that we played against the Board’s President’s XI back then. It was a huge eye-opener for us. Even their second and third teams showed such immense potential. At each level, they were busy raising the bar. They’ve always been a competitive side in multiple ways,” he said.

Tendulkar also said that South Africa, while being a team to beat even in the present era, lack a few factors that they possessed whenever he faced them. “The thing with South Africa is they always enjoyed an amazing balance”.