India have lost two of their three previous Tests at Kingsmead in Durban, but South Africa are no more invincible at this result-oriented, windy venue
India have lost two of their three previous Tests at Kingsmead in Durban, but South Africa are no more invincible at this result-oriented, windy venue
Once a stronghold of South Africa, the hosts haven't won a Test match here since January 2008 when they crushed the hapless West Indians. They lost to both England and Australia in back-to-back summers. If India, who are in a must-win situation in order to level the three-Test series, ever needed motivation, this would be it.u00a0
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| SA captain Graeme Smith watches his side slump to defeat against England at Durban on December 30, 2009.
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However, India will forever remember this ground for getting bundled out for 100 and 66 respectively during the first Test of their tour in 1996-97. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the two survivors from that game, will have nightmares of that three-day drubbing. In 2006-07, too, India lost by a massive margin of 174 runs.
The curator, however, said that a lot depends on the weather. If it's humid and there is moisture, the conditions will naturally suit seam bowlers. If the wind blows in the south-west direction, the ball will swing prodigiously, providing assistance to the likes of Dale Steyn, S Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan. Conversely, if the wind blows from north to east, Kingsmead flattens out into a batting paradise. In that scenario, Morne Morkel would be a handful on this surface due to his ability to generate a lot of bounce.
Weather tricksLast March, Australia found out the tricks weather in Durban can play. On the first day, clear skies and wind flowing in the north-east direction helped Ricky Ponting's Australia enjoy a good outing with the bat, as openers Simon Katich and Phillip Hughes put on a stand of 184, but the drastic weather change the next morning meant they collapsed from 266-3 to 352 all out.
South Africa, too, lost seven wickets on the same day. In 2005, South Africa bowled out England for 139 on the first day and then the latter posted over 500 in the second innings. It's this sort of inconsistency that has given rise to the legend of the tidal impact. Remember, the Indian Ocean is just a stone throw away from the ground.
That once again establishes the importance of the direction in which the winds blow.
To quote Bob Dylan, "the answer my friend is blowing in the wind." Hence, lack of rain would be the order of the day if you are in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's camp.
InspirationThe last Test played here saw Graeme Swann spin England to a famous victory, courtesy of a nine-wicket haul, a rare occurrence on this surface. That could be the sort of inspiration under-fire off-spinner Harbhajan Singh requires.
"It wasn't a dry surface, he (Swann) just bowled really well with good loop and turn," one of the ground staff said.
There was a lot of grass on the pitch yesterday. The ground staff said a lot of it would be shaven off. "There will be enough carry," he said. "A lot will depend on the advice given to us by the head curator. He has some plans, based on the weather" he added.
"If you have noticed over the years, this is one surface in South Africa that always produces results. This time would be no different, provided the weather remains good." Eight of the last nine Tests here have produced results.
There have been small spells of rainfall all through the week. However, the last two days have been predominantly sunny. Both teams will assemble today having taken two full days of well-deserved rest.
Meanwhile, the locals are keenly awaiting a thriller. "They are No 1 not for nothing," said a cab driver when reminded the visitors were crushed by an inning-margin in the first Test. It is learnt that more than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the highly-anticipated Boxing Day Test. In fact, a lot of spectators have been flocking in from nearby towns too.
Over to Sunday, when people in the spirit of Christmas, turn out to enjoy the battle between the world's top Test sides.
