Graeme Smith expects an Indian fight back in Durban
After the first Test match at Centurion, Graeme Smith expects the Indian team to come back hard in the second Test match which starts on Boxing Day. Smith is however confident that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 will continue performing the way they did in the first Test
match.
India has a strong batting line-up and if the conditions are batting friendly, their batsmen are almost impossible to get out. The bowling has been the weak link for the Indian team, but with Zaheer Khan returning to the side, things will be much tougher
for the South African team.
Smith said that the Indian side has experience, and there is no doubt that they will try and bounce back in the series. He said, “After what happened in the first Test I expect them to be better, especially from a batting perspective, as they will know what
to expect. India is an experienced team and I expect them to come out fighting in the next Test and I expect them to use their experience to bounce back. We can't afford to take anything for granted in terms of how we expect them to go.”
Even though Smith expects the visitors to make things difficult for his team, he is confident that South Africa has the right combination and skills to counter http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. The South Africans completely dominated the Indian batsmen in the first match, and have
the momentum going into the next match.
Smith said, “When you win by an innings and 25 runs you do take a lot of positives out of the game and a lot of confidence. From our perspective, we have taken a few big steps forward in the series, and India has probably got a few doubts.”
The next match will be played at Kingsmead, and South Africa has a very poor record at that venue, especially in the last couple of games. The last two matches they played at Kingsmead were against England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. They lost to England by an innings,
and to Australia by a big margin of 175 runs.
Smith is looking forward to better that record, and he said that the team has already forgotten the past results. Reflecting on his team’s performances in Kingsmead, Smith said, “Our last two matches here have not been our best performances, and all round
we haven't played that well here, but it's up to us to put that right. We have had a good chat about how we want to play in Durban, and the things we can use to our advantage. We have a lot of guys in the team who know the wicket, and understand how it plays.”
The South African team has the upper hand going into this match. They have performed well in all departments of the game. They were totally dominant when they bowled India out for 136 in the first innings of the match. Then their batsmen were unstoppable,
as they smashed the Indian bowlers all over the ground.
The only hope for India will be the comeback of Zaheer Khan. If he can bowl well in the next match, South Africa could be put under pressure. The hosts have a 1-0 lead and will look to wrap up the series in the next match.
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