India have creditable performances to show as tourists since the 2006-07 tour to South Africa

South Africa coach Corrie Van Zyl, check out Dhoni & Co's abroad

India have creditable performances to show as tourists since the 2006-07 tour to South Africa. Opposition coach Corrie Van Zyl, who brought up India's poor record there yesterday, to note

It's becoming fashionable to undermine India's edge by bringing up past records.

That the touring Indian players with a probable exception of Harbhajan Singh don't believe in all the jazz, staying away from blowing their trumpet, is a different matter.

The Indian team celebrate their 1-0 series win over England after the
Third Test match at the Oval in London, 2007. Pic/Getty Images

Yesterday, South Africa coach Corrie Van Zyl latched on the opportunity to stress on India's inability to win a series in South Africa ever since the Rainbow Nation got readmitted to international cricket in 1991. India was the first team to visit the Republic for a Test series in 1992-93.

"However, playing in South Africa under very different conditions is something else and that's one of the reasons they came a bit earlier to get used to the conditions," Van said yesterday.

"They (India) are an experienced team with much depth regarding their batting and bowling, but the record books never lie," is how Van Zyl decided to show his side's superiority.

Now, the same old talk of pace and bounce:u00a0 "Again, it's about who handles the pace and the bounce best.
u00a0
That's what's important and what we will see by the end of the Test series."

A senior Indian player who is part of MS Dhoni's entourage in South Africa was so right when he asked, "why is that top teams' inability to play the turning ball well is never equated to India's weakness against the rising ball? And does it mean that when the ball bounces it is cricket and when the ball turns it is not cricket?"
Come to think of it, bounce has bothered every team. And anyone who says he enjoys tackling the bouncing ball should be in the profession of proving criminals innocent.

And when it comes to pace, as former Australia captain Ian Chappell says, it's no use if it's not well directed. Steyn, Morkel to note. Ditto South African bowling coach Vincent Barnes.

Rahul Dravid's Indians played poor cricket in the final Test of the last series in South Africa in 2006-07 after dominating the critical, initial stage of the Cape Town battle but before that Test they had the hosts in danger of losing the series.

And nowhere do we find Van Zyl talk about India winning the first Test of the same series in Johannesburg which was made possible by S Sreesanth's pace bowling and a good batting show in a low-scoring game. Indeed, India have not got enough credit for improving as tourists.

Since the last tour of South Africa, the Indians have registered a series win in England. They went into the fourth and final Test in Adelaide 2009 with the Australians unsure of a series win despite winning the first two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney which came before India's famous revival at Perth, a venue which incidentally the Aussies now look to duck Ashes humiliation.

The 2008 triangular ODI series win Down Under was achieved after five attempts. And yes, there was no need of the third game in the best of three finals.

Later came a series win for Dhoni's men in New Zealand after no less than 40 years.

Sri Lanka, considered one of hardest places to win at cricket were deprived of a Test series win earlier this year. That's besides five successive one-day triumphs in the Emerald Isles.

Sure, a Test series win in South Africa and Australia still eludes India, but were the above high points achieved without summing up the conditions?

Over to Thursday's battle at Centurion.