SA must learn lessons of 'toughest' test

Exactly four weeks after Faf du Plessis predicted South Africa would be presented with "the worst", that is where they find themselves. With the series lost and the certainty they used to have over their best XI shattered, South Africa face the final Test with a different focus than winning: to reignite the confidence of their younger crop, who have come under criticism for the way they have handled conditions.

"I'm a senior player and I'm finding it tough because the conditions dictate the way you play and your performances. It's important for us to try and keep the younger players positive, and we've done that," du Plessis said.

Like his captain, Hashim Amla, du Plessis called the Indian surfaces the most difficult he has faced and cautioned against using them as a benchmark to assess performances. "These have been the toughest conditions that I have played under, it's also been a challenge for the young guys coming in," he said "It's a hard task for them because they get judged by playing Test cricket in these conditions where you have found that even our experienced players have found it tough. We have to keep motivating them and to keep the spirits high."

He had particular praise for wicket-keeper Dane Vilas, who was on his first tour as the frontline gloveman after he travelled to Bangladesh as a reserve, and is already facing the chop after unconvincing performances in front and behind the stumps. "I thought that Dane kept really well on a wicket with spin and bounce and with the ball sometimes keeping low," du Plessis said. "What we have to try and do is to focus on the positives. Coming and facing this in your first Test series abroad is a challenge."

Like Vilas, Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, and even du Plessis himself have never played Tests in India before. Although du Plessis has been in the national team for longer than the other three, he is looking at this outing as an education. "The good thing about it is you can learn from this and improve your game. Even I have learnt a lot about my game in the last few matches," he said, adding some advice for the rest. "I've concentrated on my defence against spin in the first 20 balls I face."

But soon after that, du Plessis suggests getting a move on, before either the surface or one of the India spinners gets the better of the batsman. "In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand you can take your time, even if you aren't getting bad balls but the surface here doesn't allow that to happen. This is a huge learning curve for us and also something we can take forward."

The extent to which du Plessis applied what had he learnt was evident in the second innings in Nagpur when, along with Amla, he ground out the highest partnership of the match and threatened to stage a rearguard action that could have put India under pressure. None of South Africa's other batsmen have shown that sort of application yet. If they are able to in Delhi, South Africa may feel that they have conquered some of the worst, even though they have been far from their best.