While Nelson Mandela was laid to rest at his ancestral village Qunu, the Indian cricketers opted for a Sunday break.
It was the ideal prelude to the intense scrutiny that will greet them in the two Tests against South Africa. As with most contests involving M.S. Dhoni’s men, these matches are seen as a battle between the Indian batsmen and South African bowlers.
It need not always be the same template and if India dreams about a triumph against the Proteas, its bowlers have to deliver. With Zaheer Khan (23 wickets from six Tests in South Africa) back in the squad, the family has got its patriarch back, a potent one at that.
There is also some history to dwell upon and India’s two wins in South Africa — at the Wanderers Stadium here in 2006 and at Durban’s Kingsmead Stadium in 2010 — were inspired by bowlers ranging from Zaheer to S. Sreesanth and from Anil Kumble to Harbhajan Singh.
The batsmen, notably Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman, did lend a hand but largely it was the bowlers, who turned the tide. It is a yardstick that needs to be followed and India’s greatest bowler Kumble, pointed out: 'Ultimately, you need 20 wickets to win.'
Kumble, who with 45 wickets (12 Tests) in South Africa, is India’s leading wicket-taker in the Rainbow Nation, stressed that Zaheer’s role will be decisive.
'Zaheer will be the leader. He will get reverse (swing) as well. Just hope he bowls at his usual speed, he shouldn’t drop his pace, shouldn’t bowl within himself. It would be good if he can knock a few wickets upfront,' Kumble said.
It is a view that was repeated by former Indian spearhead Javagal Srinath, who too excelled in South Africa with 43 wickets from eight Tests.
'Strength and energy will be critical to Zaheer. As for line, length and strategies, he is a master at that.
'It boils down to his core strength and (about) him coming in for the right spells and sustaining that energy. Another core area for Zaheer is the way he guides the other bowlers,' Srinath said.
Both Kumble and Srinath emphasised upon the right length. 'The length has to be neither forward nor backward. It has to be a length where after pitching, the height of the ball should be able to hit the knee roll of the pad and if the batsman snicks it, there is enough carry for the catch to be taken.'
'You can’t just release the ball, even if there is swing you need to hit the deck hard,' Kumble said and Srinath added: 'Line is universal but length, you need to adjust based on the pitch. The bowlers will need a few overs to find the accurate length but they have to find it fast.'
What about spin?
Kumble highlighted that the slow bowlers have to cope with the bounce.
'It does not spin much but you do get bounce from the surface. The spinners have to take that into account when they set the field. The ball tends to get soft after 20 overs, so the spinners need to handle that in the middle overs. Between the grounds, there is not much at Johannesburg but Durban does a bit more. And if the game goes to the fourth and fifth day, the spinners will have a role,' Kumble said.
Having done well here, Kumble spoke about his stints and also offered a clue to R. Ashwin.
'I enjoyed bowling there, bowling into the rough especially against a left-handed batsman. With Zaheer and hopefully (Lonwabo) Tsotsobe bowling (both being left-arm seamers), there will be a rough that Ashwin can exploit,' Kumble said.
There may be frost in the ties between Cricket South Africa and the BCCI but back in 1992, there was bonhomie and Kumble recalled: 'We were taken in a motorcade from the airport. We also met Nelson Mandela. There were about 20 to 25 formal dinners.'