Will Steyn live up to the hype?

You have got to hand it to the South Africans - they are certainly talking a good game going into the three-Test series against India. From the form of Jacques Kallis to their claims for the No 2 Test ranking, they clearly believe they can do some damage, but it is the talk about Dale Steyn that is most interesting of all.

Steyn has beaten Allan Donald's record in reaching 100 Test wickets in his 20th Test and the fast bowler, who lacks nothing in effort, will go into the series full of confidence. But while the hard bouncy pitches that have helped him so far will be a distant thought when he encounters the dusty grounds of India.

Chennai is thought to be a spinner's paradise - India will play two spinners there - and the other two grounds will not offer him too much assistance. Nevertheless, he is favourite with bet365 to be South Africa's leading wicket-taker in the series, at even money.

Spinner Paul Harris is next at 3/1, which is a pretty big indication of what the pitches are expected to be like. The tirless Makhaya Ntini is a pretty big price, all things considered, at 5/1 and to be honest that is about the lot for the tourists.

Steyn, for me, has a lot to prove on pitches like this and he will be bowling to some of the finest batsman in the world, so he will not find it easy. Ntini seems a better bet.

Kumble or Harbhajan
India captain Anil Kumble is favourite to be his side's leading wicket-taker, at 8/13, while Harbhajan is 4/1 and I can't see anyone other than these two dominating the India betting.

The harder the pitch, when there is some bounce, will aid Kumble and he deserves favouritism. The skipper also has more experience against South Africa and has the advantage that he will be deciding who bowls when, so could have more chance than his spin partner. However, Harbhajan has been singled out by India's coaches as the man to watch, and while that may be just to boost his confidence, it could turn out to be true.