Iceman’s Realm

The battle has begun. And it will be quite decisive because it will determine the number one side in Test Cricket. The home team are sitting pretty at the top of the test rankings with 124 points closely followed by the visiting side, the Proteas with 120 points. A couple of test matches will be played between these two teams and if the home team manages a draw from them, it’s more than enough to maintain the top spot. But if they lose, there could be a twist in the tale. Talking about the teams, South Africa with the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, and Dale Steyn to name a few, are relatively a much better side. Almost all their players are in fine nick and with batsmen friendly pitches like the one in Nagpur, the South African batsmen can make a mockery of the Indian bowling. India on the other hand are playing without Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Yuvraj Singh. Their absence has created a void in the Indian middle order that’s hard to fill in. After a day and a half’s play, it looks like the pitch is a good one to bat on and the visitors have made good use of the batting conditions. The home team might have got the prized wicket of Kallis but Amla is still piling it on. With a couple of batsmen still to come, a mammoth total is definitely on the cards.