The pre-series verbal war has set the stage for an electrifying battle as India gear up to face a hostile South Africa in the first of a three-Test cricket series starting in Centurion on Thursday.
"Record books don't lie", said South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl while reminding India of their rather unimpressive past performances here as the battle of wits continued between the two sides ahead of the Test series starting on Thursday.
Senior India batsman Rahul Dravid has warned South Africa that they could be making a big mistake if they prepare green-top pitches for the Test series starting next week as his side also possess no less a potent pace battery than the home side.
Indians have traditionally struggled to adapt to hard, bouncy wickets of South Africa and coach Gary Kirsten wants his top batsmen at least 3,000 hits at the nets to be battle-ready before the Test series starting at Centurion on December 16.
South Africa is keen to avail Gary Kirsten's services after his contract with India expires next year but the country's cricket board (CSA) might not be able to afford the former Protea left-handed batsman in the wake of a sponsorship row, according to a report.
India cricket coach Gary Kirsten on Friday sought to distance himself from a controversial dossier that encourages cricketers to indulge in sexual activities, saying he had no role in drafting the document nor was it intended for team strategy.
Rahul Dravid was a satisfied man after his marathon innings of 191 and more so because he had been able to get rid of the few technical glitches he had developed in his batting of late.
Delhi Daredevils' chief coach Gary Kirsten has pointed out that he was the one who wanted multi-million dollar signing Yuvraj Singh in the team.
Prolific Indian opener Gautam Gambhir says the Board of Control for Cricket in India should renew coach Gary Kirsten's contract after it expires at the end of next year's World Cup.
Despite recent successes, India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad believes there is a still lot of work to be done with the fast bowlers.
With world-class series against some top sides lined up, India coach Gary Kirsten said the team couldn't have asked for a better build-up to the 2011 World Cup.
India is confident that Gary Kirsten will stay on as coach for another year despite speculation that the former South African opener will succeed Mickey Arthur in the role in his native country. Arthur resigned and the entire selection panel were sacked last week following the drawn series with England, while Kirsten's current two-year contract comes up for extension in March.
Key batsmen Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, both nursing injuries, are doubtful starters for the first Test against South Africa, India coach Gary Kirsten said in Mirpur on Tuesday.
Coach Gary Kirsten told India's squad to distance themselves from the controversy surrounding five senior players ahead of the start of the Test series against Australia.
Gary Kirsten has no doubts they will bounce back and be challenging for One-day cricket's most coveted trophy next year.
The Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils was more than just a contest between teams looking to break into the top four and make it to the knock-out stage of the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament. It reunited some of the heroes of India's World Cup-winning team of 2011.
India's newly-appointed bowling consultant Eric Simons said it was strange that his first big assignment with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side was against his own country South Africa.
Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said the team is missing bowling and fielding coaches, resulting in an increased workload for chief coach Gary Kirsten.
If his exciting talent and the rich encomia showered on him by the likes of Wasim Akram and Sourav Ganguly are any indication, then India may have unearthed a potentially world-class fast bowler in Jaydev Unadkat.
A secret four-part document detailing the benefits of sex, and put together by India cricket coach Gary Kirsten and mental conditioning expert Paddy Upton, has been handed over to members of the Indian cricket team.
South African Gary Kirsten has said he does not want to be considered for the job of England team director because of personal reasons.
Former India coach Gary Kirsten says he is flattered that people are thinking about me, but the amount of time spent away from home prevents him from taking up the job.
If outgoing coach Gary Kirsten is to be believed, batting and fielding aren't Team India's areas of concern. It is seam bowling!
Heaping praises on India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the outgoing national team coach Gary Kirsten said that the skipper not only leads by example and puts in maximum effort on the field but also feels it the most when the team loses.
After guiding the Indian team to the coveted World Cup title after a gap of 28 years in his final assignment as coach, Gary Kirsten may be seen in the same avatar with his native South Africa.
India coach Gary Kirsten said that he will not judge his team's bench strength on the basis of performance in just one game after the depleted hosts went down to South Africa in the inconsequential third and final ODI in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Newly appointed India coach Gary Kirsten and Anil Kumble had their first meeting with the BCCI officials in Mumbai.
'I am very satisfied,' declared Gary Kirsten, with a sigh of relief, a day ahead of the third and final One-day International between India and South Africa at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera.
Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi on Thursday refused to buy the idea that IPL was the reason behind India's Twenty20 World Cup debacle and said the cash-rich tournament was here to stay with top Indian players continuing to play in it.
Mohinder Amarnath feels irrational scheduling of the Indian Premier League was a major factor in India's debacle in the Twenty20 World Cup and also questioned the purpose of India's short tour to the West Indies.
India's chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth clarified that it was purely Sourav Ganguly's decision to call it a day. 'I think it is the right decision. I hope now he plays with a free mind and scores a lot of runs and wins this series for India. I think he deserves it because he has done so much for the country,' he said.
Vice-captain Virender Sehwag is likely to miss India's opening encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday. Coach Gary Kirsten indicated that he is yet to fully recover from a Grade 1 tear in his shoulder.
India coach Gary Kirsten reckons the absence of the fiery all-rounder in Australia's squad could reduce the tension that, of late, surrounds Indo-Australian series.
The former South Africa opener may take on the job of India coach, left vacant by Greg Chappell.
With India well-poised to win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Mumbai and become world number one in Test cricket, coach Gary Kirsten on Saturday said the achievement would be the culmination of the hard work by the team in the last year and half.
India cricket coach Gary Kirsten's ailing mother Gayl Hall passed away in Cape Town on Friday after losing a battle against cancer. Gayl was 64 and undergoing treatment for lung cancer at the Vincent Pallotti Hospital.
India's coach Gary Kirsten Kirsten said the batsmen need to apply themselves and put on a concentrated effort on the fifth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
India coach Gary Kirsten quashed British media speculation that he is a front-runner among the candidates for the job of England cricket coach. 'I am not a candidate,' he was quoted as saying by cricinfo on the sidelines of Indian team's practice session in Wellington on Thursday, ahead of the third Test against New Zealand.
India coach Gary Kirsten on Tuesday sprang to the defence of his spinners after both Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra went wicketless on the second day of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad.
India coach Gary Kirsten has backed his new generation of batsmen to seamlessly replace the experienced order ahead of next week's Asian Cup.
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