South Africa have their work cut out for must-win game

Accustomed to leading from the front, Graeme Smith's form has been nightmarish of late © Getty Images

Ten days ago, the South Africans would have swaggered into Kingsmead like a top gladiator into the Circus Maximus, but after the 123-run capitulation at the Wanderers, the step has become a little less sure, and the brows a little more creased with worry. Apart from Australia, and Pakistan in Azhar Mahmood's match, no team has won here since South Africa returned from isolation. India drew in 1992-93, on the back of a doughty century on debut from Pravin Amre, but were thrashed in '96-'97 on a pitch that afforded extravagant movement off the seam.

Yet, when confronted with a bit of movement at Johannesburg, it was South Africa that folded tamely, lasting just a few minutes longer than a Twenty20 innings, and Graeme Smith has a huge task on his hands to restore morale ahead of what has become a must-win game. And it wasn't only the batsmen that let the team down at the Wanderers. With the exception of Shaun Pollock who was quite magnificent, the bowlers bowled far too short, buying into the stereotype of Indian frailty against pace rather than making optimum use of the conditions.

Dale Steyn, who was supposed to rattle the cage with the new ball, barely induced a stroke and limped off after 10.1 overs, and with Makhaya Ntini also off-colour, India's marquee batsmen all produced innings that were worth far more than a cursory look at the scorecard suggests. With the exception of Ashwell Prince, and Jacques Kallis, who got starts in both innings before falling to Sreesanth's wonderfully controlled swing bowling, no South African batsman could do the same.

The rot started right at the top. During his tenure as captain, Smith has often led from the front, scoring superb centuries in England and New Zealand that inspired famous victories. Throughout this series though, both he and Herschelle Gibbs have appeared highly suspect, and a change is certain at Kingsmead. At the press conference on Saturday, Smith confirmed that AB de Villiers, who opened with him against Australia a few months ago, would move up the order, with Gibbs moved all the way down to No.6.

It will also be massive game for Hashim Amla, who has captain Kwazulu-Natal at provincial level. Prolific in domestic cricket, he has yet to convince at this level, and there's always the additional and unfair pressure of being one of the poster boys of the controversial transformation process. The likes of Jacques Rudolph and Boeta Dippenaar wait in the shadows, and you also wonder how long it will be before Neil McKenzie gets an opportunity to resume a stop-start career that has never done justice to what is undoubtedly a special talent.

Smith spoke of how he had worked with Jimmy Cook, formerly of Somerset and the Transvaal Mean Machine, and "just getting away from it" in a bid to rediscover the scoring touch. He might also need to revisit the all-pace bowling strategy, though Paul Harris's left-arm spin is unlikely to feature even if Steyn fails to recover from his quadriceps strain.

Morne Morkel is tipped for a debut, having impressed against the Indians at Potchefstroom. His display there told you just why the likes of Allan Donald rate him so highly, but a Test match in such circumstances might ask an awful lot of a young man, even one with a wonderful future. The sameness of their attack has been South Africa's Achilles Heel in recent times, especially when compared to the likes of Australia and England, and Morkel's inclusion won't alleviate that problem.

Despite the Wanderers fiasco, South Africa remain favourites on a bouncy Kingsmead pitch that will certainly be quicker than the two-paced surface in Johannesburg. Having been blanked 3-0 by Australia earlier this year, defeat against India doesn't bear thinking about. If Kingsmead offers redemption, some might look back on what happened at the Wanderers as an aberration. But if it turns out to be a harbinger of things to come, either Smith or Mickey Arthur will surely have to pay the price.

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