For the Proteas, the emphasis is on all 15 players instead of 11.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly opined that he was confident of an Indian victory after the team crossed the 250-run barrier.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers will turn to his senior players to help lift the team out of the doldrums after they suffered a 'big knock' to their confidence.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Part-time spinner Dean Elgar ripped through India's batting line-up with four wickets as South Africa made the hosts rue their decision to bat first on the opening day of the first Test in Mohali, on Thursday.
Tendulkar and Dravid came close to the 900-point mark, but were unable to break the barrier
Hardik Pandya stood tall amid ruins with his all-round prowess but hosts South Africa were still very much in command with a current lead of 142 runs against India after an enthralling second day in the first Test in Cape Town
Cheteshwar Pujara was the highest-ranked Indian batsman despite dropping a rung to eighth while R Ashwin held on to his eighth position in the bowlers' chart of the ICC Test rankings.
India put up yet another dismal batting display, on seam-friendly conditions, to suffer a humiliating 134-run defeat in the second one-dayer against South Africa in Durban on Sunday.
Kane Williamson fought hard to establish his innings before cashing in during the final session to lead New Zealand to 177 for three at close of play on the second day of the first test against South Africa on Thursday.
AB de Villiers won as many as five awards, including the South African Cricketer of the Year for a second consecutive time, at a gala function, hosted by Cricket South Africa (CSA), in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. Besides being voted Cricketer of the Year for the second successive season, the South African batting great bagged four more accolades out of nine major awards.
The Proteas high performance coach and renowned explorer, Mike Horn, on Thursday, revealed that he was required to provide additional support at the World Cup ahead of their semi-final against New Zealand following a change in team selection to meet apparent 'quota' requirements.
India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin thrived on a spinners' paradise in Mohali, bamboozling South Africa's batsmen in the first Test to secure a 108-run victory with more than two days to spare on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 63 gave India a firm hold on the opening Test against South Africa after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th five-wicket haul to restrict the touring side to 184 on the second day on Friday.
India announced themselves as genuine contenders to defend their World Cup title on Sunday by humbling South Africa's vaunted pace attack before bowling out the Proteas for an emphatic 130-run victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
Bangladesh teenage spin sensation Mehedi Hasan rocketed into the 33rd position in the rankings for Test bowlers after bowling Bangladesh to their first-ever victory over England on Sunday
The Proteas bowlers took part in a thorough session under the watchful eyes of Langeveldt with the aim of increasing their workloads and mapping out expectations and game plans ahead of the 72-day tour which starts with the first Twenty20 match in Dharamsala on October 2.
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
Virat Kohli achieved another personal milestone by becoming the seventh India batsman and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to top the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.
The much-vaunted Indian top order struggled yet again against quality fast bowling as the visitors stared at a series defeat at the close of fourth day in the second cricket Test against South Africa in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara credited all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping India stay afloat in the first Test against South Africa, in Cape Town, on Saturday.
Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African batting line-up to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.
England legend and commentator Geoffrey Boycott has slammed South African curators for being 'too kind' to India in the recent Test series, saying that had be been the captain of the African side, he would have 'strangled' the groundsmen.
Rains took some sheen off Kane Williamson's record batting display of scoring the fastest ever century in Champions League Twenty20 as New Zealand side Northern Knights beat Cape Cobras of South Africa by 33 runs under Duckworth-Lewis method in Raipur.
Usman Khawaja hit Australia's first century of the series and Peter Handscomb scored a half-century on debut as the hosts reached 307 for six with a lead of 48 at end of the second day of the day-night third Test against South Africa in Adelaide.
Replacement paceman Kyle Abbott took 6-77 as South Africa completed an innings and 80-run humiliation of Australia the second Test in Hobart on Tuesday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth on Saturday.
South Africa lost the wicket of opener Alviro Petersen for a duck as they chased 369 runs for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Australia ripped through South Africa's top order in the first hour, dismissed the tourists for 242 by tea and reached 105 without loss at close on the back of some Dave Warner fireworks on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
'I am sitting here with a smile on my face knowing there is one less very competitive, very talented guy that we don't have to deal with'
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
Some strong performances with the bat will help Joe Root to surge to the top and then potentially strengthen his position in the four-Test series against Pakistan, which begins on 14 July.
In the 35 Tests Kohli has led as captain, he has fielded 35 different playing 11s. Sure, the chopping and changing worked in the sub-continent because the home conditions masked the deficiencies in constantly chopping and changing the playing 11, says Chetan Narula.
Perhaps for the first time, India's pace strength is not centred on any one individual, or set of individuals.
Former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar on Saturday slammed India's team selection in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, saying it is a shame to pick players for a Test match based on their form in limited overs cricket.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
South Africa pacer Vernon Philander, on Wednesday, questioned India's claims of being fully prepared for the three-match series, saying a fair assessment of where the visitors stand could only be made after the first Test beginning Friday.
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