Visakhapatnam: South Africa had a torrid time on their last Test tour of India in 2015, when they were hammered 3-0 in a four-match series. The second Test in Bangalore ended in a draw because there was no play on the last four days, the hosts having rattled to 80 without loss on Day One after bowling the Proteas out for 214.

Faf du Plessis had a tour to forget personally too, following frugal returns of 60 runs from seven innings at a miserable 8.57. Now the captain of a Test team in the throes of transition, Du Plessis, 35, insists he is a far better player of the turning ball than he was four years back. "If there is a flaw in your game, generally Test cricket exposes that," Du Plessis admitted yesterday as South Africa braced to make their maiden appearance in the World Test Championship in the first Test against India.