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Those successes have been based on great individual performances; fast bowler Makhaya Ntini has now displaced Shaun Pollock as the top South Africa bowler, climbing four places to fourth in the ICC list. Fellow paceman Andre Nel is up nine places to a career-best 20th and Andrew Hall is also at a personal peak, up eight places to 40th.

‘‘That good run means they will be a confident bunch while facing India,’’ said former South African batsman Daryll Cullinan.

The parallels with India don’t stop at the successes, nor even at Adrian LeRoux, the fitness trainer formerly with Team India and now with the tourists. They also include the modus operandi of winning.

Like Greg Chappell, SA coach Mickey Arthur has also been emphasising on ‘‘strategy.’’ ‘‘I would love to use that term,’’ Arthur said today. ‘‘We’ve come here after preparing our own strategy to counter the Indians. We would like to concentrate on our game more than theirs. If we are able to do that, everything else will fall into place.’’

Arthur and Smith also talked about having watched video footage of India’s young brigade and pointed out that there was a plan chalked out for every individual.

But bowling and slow tracks aren’t the only concerns for the tourists. They are impressed by the changed idea of Indian cricket; rotation, utility, fitness, flexibility were alien terms here till Chappell took over. ‘‘The fielding has been impressive,’’ observed Smith.

Jonty Rhodes, a familiar figure in these parts, put it succinctly: ‘‘Earlier, there was more class and less ‘utility’ in the Indian team.’’

India’s mastery of the art of utility players and of the Power Play rules were responsible to a large extent for their success against Sri Lanka. South Africa, too, have been able to thrive on the advantage of Power Play in recent times. Players like AB de Villiers, Justin Kemp and Andre Nel have shown the ability to turn a 50-over match to the team’s favour and seniors Pollock and Jacques Kallis are old pros at working round ICC limitations.

‘‘Bowlers like them are the best in adapting to conditions and that is what is so good about them,’’ says former Safs swing bowler bowler Fanie de Villiers. ‘‘The understanding exists that bowling fast alone out there (in India) can help,’’ he says.

The Safs have also acknowledged the importance of spin, contrary to Smith’s early declaration that they would travel without any spinners and instead ride on their pacers’ experience. There are three in this party: Justin Ontong, a batsman who later turned into an off-spinner, Johan Botha, a medium pacer who remodeled his bowling into off-spin with Harbhajan Singh as his idol and Robin Peterson, the only genuine spinner that South Africa have unearthed of late.

Arthur set aside his team’s priorities the best possible way. ‘‘India have always been strong at home. Moreover, they have been on a terrific run. South Africa too have enjoyed a phenomenal one-day record. This should be exciting for a good series.’’

Amen to that. But with one caveat: The last time a team ranked No 2 visited, they were sent back after a good hiding.

3 KEY SAFS

GRAEME SMITH: The skipper may be young but he’s aggressive, and confident that South Africa can find enough chinks in India’s armour to win the series. He’s also shown he can take maximum advantage of bowling and field changes

JOHAN BOTHA: Started his career as a medium-pacer but slowed down after seeing Harbhajan’s success. Now bowls off-spin, modelling his action on the ‘Turbanator’. He has developed the doosra, practiced the straight one and mastered the conventional off-breaks. Now he’s only too happy to debut in the land of spin

JUSTIN KEMP: The first person since Klusener to hit that big. South Africa have begun to rely on this swashbuckling bat. Kemp was Man-Of-the-Series when SA recently beat New Zealand