Series against India is amongst the eagerly anticipated of my career

By Jacques Kallis

The start of every tour is exciting but the forthcoming series againstIndia is amongst the eagerly anticipated of my career.

Indian cricketis undoubtedly on the rise and there isn't much doubt that the Testsquad deserved a share of the Aussie series a couple of months ago..We all watched India tackle the Aussies head on and, controversiesaside, there was some tremendous cricket played, especially by India.

Although we were in the middle of a series against West Indies andstill had a tour of Bangladesh to come, we couldn't help thinkingahead to this tour and looking forward to it. I have nothing happy memories of touring India, even though we lostthe last series we played.

After an elongated draw in Kanpur we wereoutplayed at Eden Gardens and went down 1-0. From a personalperspective, however, scoring a century at the Asian 'home of cricket'remains one of my career highlights. I will be fascinated to see whether the pitches for the three Testswill be prepared to favour either seam or spin. Which way would Indiabe tempted to go? With Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the squad,will they be the match winners on dry, dusting pitches? Or does the'arrival' of Ishant Sharma on the scene mean that, along withSreesanth and Irfan Pathan, India will expect their fast bowlers totake most wickets?

If I was forced to guess then I expect the 'status quo' will remain –in other words, the spinners will get their way! It is not just thequality and experience of the India spin attack which the home sideneed to consider but the quality of the South African pace attack.Dale Steyn has been a phenomenal performer this season winning the manof the series in all three Test series we have played. His strike rateis amongst the best of all time and the bad news for India(hopefully!) is that the pitch has nothing to do with his successbecause it is his pace and swing through the air which are hisgreatest weapons.

Morne Morkel is no less talented but a very different sort of fastbowler. Being as tall as he is, he is able to extract bounce from theflattest of pitches and he also has a devastating yorker which he usesas a surprise weapon to great effect. They both play for the Titanfranchise at home, they are of a similar age and they are greatfriends. Injuries and form permitting, they could well become a SouthAfrican institution for many years to come – the new Donald & Pollock,perhaps?And then, of course, there is Makhaya, a living legend. He still hasmany, many miles left in his engine and his experience on thesubcontinent will be vital. Behind them, of course, there is a blokecalled Kallis who might be able to find a bit of reverse swing in themiddle of the day when the ball's a bit older. If it swings as much asit did in Bangladesh recently then I might even pick up a few wickets!Another fascinating aspect of the series will be the presence of GaryKirsten and Paddy Upton in the opposition changing room.

Gary said recently that he wouldn't really be able to influence the tacticsagainst specific players very much because much of the South Africanteam had moved on since he retired in 2004. Well, I haven't moved onand Gary knows my game intimately!Because we both live in Cape Town and played for Western Province,Gary played a huge role in my career, particularly the formative yearswhen I was just starting out. He was a role model and mentor, later tobecome one of my best friends.

I'm not sure how I'll react when Ifirst see him again, wearing Indian team kit, but I have no doubt atall about how he will react – with complete and total control andprofessionalism. I wonder whether he'll accept the offer if I invitehim for a beer after a day's play?I had to smile when Gary was appointed coach of India. My firstthought was how Hansie Cronje used to tell him off for enjoying thebatting of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin.

Gary used tostand at mid on and become lost in a dream world of admiration. Themore our bowlers suffered, the more enchanted Gary became! I hope he has many more such days in the next two years - but startingin about a month's time!

Hawkeye Communications / Chivach Sports