It’s a clash of the two big titans—the two giants—the top two ranked teams in the world. South Africa and India clash at Nagpur in what is being termed the ‘world championship of cricket’. As we move into the series let’s have a look at which players to look out for and who’re the odds favouring.

South Africa

AB De Villiers: AB de Villiers did set the world on fire the last time he was here. He played beautifully all round the wicket and was one of the few batsmen on their debut tour to India to perform so well. He announced himself into world cricket with a very timely and aggressive century.

He’s been in pretty good knick in lead up to the series. He’s been getting pretty decent start but how would he love to convert one of ‘em into a century. He is a mainstay in the South African middle order along with Jacques Kallis and the proteas will be heavily reliant on the duo to provide some stability in the middle order. De Villiers is a brilliant fielder and must be kept an eye on—the man pulls out catches from absolute thin air.

Jacques Kallis: He has now turned 34 and with his medium pace is one of the best all rounder’s the game has ever seen. Kallis will be keen after a certain lay off and would love to grind (that’s the sort of character he is, isn’t he?) his way out of India with some runs and wickets under his belt. Now that he has returned to full fitness his bowling will come in handy for South Africa. With his slightly round arm action he should be a handful especially with the old ball where he would be able to reverse swing the ball in these conditions.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn: Steyn had a wonderful tour the last time he was here. Both Morkel and Steyn are more than capable of bowling a 150 kmph per hour and a swinging ball at that pace especially with a relatively inexperienced middle order (barring Sachin) against them. The Indian batsmen certainly do have their work cut out.

Morkel earlier mentioned that he would be looking to bowl a quite a few short ones considering the Indian batsmen problems with the bumpers. Steyn said “I’ve said many times before, a 150 or 145 km Yorker is absolutely no different whether you bowl it here in Nagpur, Chennai, Johannesburg, Perth. It’s the skill behind the delivery that is what counts at the end of the day”. The Indians would have to be wary of the duo see of the new ball and take it from there.

India

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir: The duo are just over 200 runs short of becoming India’s most successful opening combination (in tests) statistically. Often in the recent past its been the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir that has given the middle order batsmen the platform to step upon. Their contribution is invaluable and they seem to complement each other pretty well with Sehwag being the aggressor. It wouldn’t be too surprising if they duo do have a good series (been the trend in the recent past) India should be in good stead to take the series from there.

Sachin Tendulkar: The more said about him the less it is. Sachin with his record has already made us expect from him. He being the senior man in the middle order with Dravid and laxman doubtful. He needs to shoulder the innings. The old man should do well and if he does so India goes with him.

Zaheer khan: He’s the only pace bowler who seems guaranteed of a place. His new ball bowling and more importantly his reverse swing will surely be one to deal with. If India has to win they need to come up with a very good bowling performance and if that has to happen Zaheer khan has to be at his best.

It’s India VS South Africa. Its world number 1 VS world number 2. It the clash of the champions—the world championship of cricket— promises to be an enthralling series.

Graeme Smith’s statement that, with a little bit of luck and better application, they could have won the Test series against England 3-1 is a fair assessment. However, it wouldn’t also be wrong to say that the visitors battled mighty hard to save the two Tests and as such the end result 1-1 can be seen as a rather just one.

The series will, in particular, be remembered for Graham Onions’ two-match saving efforts with the bat, wherein he played out the final over of the game in a composed manner to peeve the Proteas. It epitomized the English fightback, though they collapsed in the final Test.

South Africa had just one atrocious innings with the bat, and it pretty much cost them a series victory. However, one still has to credit them for the way they fought back in the final Test and demolished the Englishmen. Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn bowled splendidly and the batting was led admirably by skipper Smith. Even with an in-form batting line-up, England could do little and Andrew Strauss had to end up sharing the series trophy with Graeme Smith.

Throughout the four Tests, there were exceptional performances from either sides. Graeme Swann was without an iota of doubt the star of the series from the English point of view. Rarely have spinners done well in South Africa and rarely have England produced quality spinners in recent years.

But, Swann is different and his success story on this tour is ample proof of it. An off-spinner in the traditional mould, his capability of beating the batsman in the flight was a sight for cricket lovers, who are fans of the aesthetic components of the game.

Add to it, the valuable contributions he made with the willow throughout the series, which benefited England in a major way and you have a sureshot match-winner. If the visitors still struggled in the bowling department, it was because the others like James Anderson and Graeme Swann weren’t as consistently effective.

England did rediscover a few batting heroes though, none bigger that Paul Collingwood. He was the man who stood between South Africa and victory in thorn and flesh. Not the most artistic of players. Collingwood did his job of staying at the crease for long durations, blocking deliveries using all his batting resources.

It was his undying efforts that went a long way in ensuring that England saved two Tests. Ian Bell was another grafter who rose to the occasion, with a match-winning hundred and a match-saving half-century in consecutive Tests. Opener Alastair Cook also made vital contributions at different points in the series.

South Africa, on the other hand, owe a lot to Steyn and Morkel, who won them the final Test. That said, the contributions of Mark Boucher as both keeper and batsman as well as those of Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis cannot be overlooked. The captain Smith himself showed the team the way forward in crunch situations. At the end of the day, it was only just that the teams shared the spoils.

It would be totally unfair to compare Pakistan’s miraculous loss at Sydney to South Africa’s heartbreak (their second in three Tests) at Cape Town. But the feeling of dejection in the two camps wouldn’t be a lot different. Both sides will be left wondering with the feeling of ‘what if’. And while, South Africa’s bowlers will have to take part of the blame for their failure to clinch the Newlands Test, one has to hand it over to the Englishmen for the manner in which he battled it out on the final day. Pakistan-like collapses and not gutsy efforts are what we have come to expect from English sides over the years. However, following their third great escape since the beginning of the Ashes, that definitely has changed.

The one common factor in all the three close shaves that England managed to survive has been Paul ‘rock solid’ Collingwood. There have been plenty of times in Collingwood’s career when he has been on the brink of elimination. But, each time he has come back with greater vengeance. And his efforts in recent times stand testimony to his never-say-die spirit and complete commitment to raise the level of England cricket.

The nerve-wracking battle against Dale Steyn on the afternoon of the final day at Cape Town would have undoubtedly been amongst Collingwood’s toughest in his entire career. With each and every moving delivering posing uncomfortable questions in front of him, Collingwood could have nicked any and been back in the pavilion. But, he stayed put, leaving alone the deliveries he could. And there was a divine soul up above who realized that here was man who needed his blessings to survive. Not that Steyn didn’t deserve it, but it was just that Collingwood’s efforts were way too indomitable to be ignored.

It wasn’t just Collingwood whose effort stood out though. Another under fire England batsman stood up to the cause. Ian Bell hasn’t done justice to his potential till date. Hopefully, this series might prove to be the making of Bell. Having already registered a century earlier, Bell had a tougher task on hand after Collingwood’s departure, to see the team through to safety. And boy, did he put up a brave front. If Collingwood had weathered the storm, Bell ensured that the danger bells did not ring in England dressing room, holding his own against Morne Morkel – the first innings hero for the Proteas – and the less effective Jacques Kallis as well as left-arm spinner Paul Harris. Both bowlers tried their level best, but while Kallis’ lack of pace hurt him, Harris’ limitations also came to the fore. He is a trier no doubt, but one can’t see him running through oppositions too often.

In the end, a frustrated Graeme Smith had to turn to JP Duminy. And the magically talented cricketer provided yet another twist in the tale. Following his breakthrough, there was another familiar England lower-order collapse. However, Graham Onions once again stood in the way of victory and South Africa. It was his second fairy tale effort, but it was undoubtedly the Paul and Bell show that saved England’s skin.

After a disappointing outing at Durban, South Africa have a lot of thinking to do as they go into the deciding Test at Cape Town. England, on the other hand, will be buoyed by their sensational effort in the second Test and will look to carry on in the same vein.

However, they have a tendency of blowing away great opportunities and that should inspire the South Africans coupled with the fact that they have an excellent record at Newlands. So it is only fair that we expect a tight contest for the decider.

Most of the pre-match discussions surrounded the poor form of veteran Makhaya Ntini and his possible exclusion. Of course, it will be an extremely tough decision.

But, now that it is clear Friedel de Wet’s omission despite his noteworthy debut at Centurion was a mistake, the decision might be easier. Still, don’t expect de Wet to repeat his debut act. This will be a bigger Test for him as the Proteas will be under greater pressure.

Pace spearhead Dale Steyn too needs to get his act right. He hasn’t had a great time against England. As such a lot will depend on how Morne Morkel performs. He has been the most consistent and threatening of the pacers for South Africa. Meanwhile, Paul Harris has been doing a commendable job as a spinner with good support from JP Duminy.

While the bowling wasn’t at its best at Durban, South Africa also suffered big time due to their uncharacteristically toothless batting effort. Only Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis made valuable contributions before the tail helped the home side get close to 350 in the first innings.

However, in the second innings, the batting was a complete disaster and South Africa crumbed to an ungracious defeat. The batters will have to put the disappointment of last week behind them and start afresh.

England, on the other hand, would look to consolidate on their magnificent effort at Durban. They would be hoping for the in-form Paul Collingwood to be fit else Michael Carberry might have to be drafted it.

That apart, most of their problems seemed sorted out in the second Test. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell struck centuries, which would have delighted the England management no end.

If the seniors like Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen can come up with similar efforts at Cape Town, the visitors would be in with a great chance of achieving a series victory considering their potent bowling attack.

Spinner Graeme Swann has been South Africa’s biggest nemesis in the series so far. His match 9-wicket haul at Durban was a richly-deserved one. Add to it, he has been more than useful with the bat lower down the order.

A decade since his tumultuous exit from international cricket, Swann has truly come of age. The pace trio of Anderson, Onions and Broad has been doing a good job at the start, getting the early breakthroughs. If they can maintain the same intensity and discipline at Cape Town, there is no reason why England can’t pull off another victory.