The India spinners proved to be the difference in the first Test against South Africa in Mohali, and now it is over to Bengaluru for the second Test match, starting Saturday.
Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli and the rest of the India team asked for a turning pitch, and while most of the wickets resulted due to some poor shot selection from the batsmen, the fact that the conditions were very India-like did help them in taking a 1-0 series lead.
There is absolutely no problem with that, and it should be the way forward in the future as well – in home conditions, you need to make full use of your strengths; otherwise, there is no point in calling it home advantage.
Bangalore wickets usually don't throw up spin from day one, like we saw in Mohali – not that a Mohali wicket, normally does that either -- and there have been murmurings of the pitch possibly carrying a green tinge owing to the excessive rain in the city over the past week.
There is still plenty of time, though, to tune the wicket to India's liking, and whatever the conditions, the home team should go into this second match with full confidence, having picked up a pretty impressive win over South Africa, the number one ranked Test team in the world in Mohali.
"It's a fresh game, but the good thing for us is that we have won the first Test, so psychologically we can say that we have an advantage," India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said. "Obviously, we can't take them lightly -- they are a good side.
"What we need to do is stay focussed on the things that are needed to win the Test match rather than worrying about what their team might do and what kind of cricket they can play. As long as we are focussed on the things we want to do, it will allow us to succeed in this Test match."
While South Africa fell prey to the turning track in Mohali, they will also know they could and should have played better cricket overall. The bowlers did pretty well in both innings of the Test match, but the batsmen just did not function as a unit, and that needs to change in this second Test match in Bangalore.
India have the advantage, but with AB De Villiers likely to get huge support on his 100th Test match, South Africa will fancy their chances of levelling the series at 1-1.
2nd Test schedule: India vs South Africa.
Date: Saturday, 14 November to Wednesday, 18 November.
Time: 9.30 am IST (6 am SAST, 4 am GMT, 11 pm ET) start on each day.
Session timings: First session: 9.30-11.30 am. Lunch: 11.30 am to 12.10 pm. Second session: 12.10-2.10 pm. Tea: 2.10-2.30 pm. Third session: 2.30-4.30 pm.
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
TV listings: India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD3. South Africa: SuperSport. Middle East and North Africa: OSN Play. USA: Willow TV. UK: Sky Sports 2.
