It's not everyday that a greenish tinge on a cricket pitch would delight anyone involved with Indian cricket. But coach Lalchand Rajput couldnt resist a smile as he surveyed the 22 yards on offer at Olympia Park in Rustenberg,which will host the first of two unofficial Tests between India A and South Africa A beginning from Saturday. Having seen his batsmen,Shikhar Dhawan in particular,maul the opposition bowling in home-like conditions in Pretoria,its not surprising that the coach was looking forward to his boys facing a tougher challenge on wickets that are more South African in nature. Rustenberg has made a better first impression on Rajput,and hes confident that the India A batsmen will end up being tested a lot more here than they were during the 50-over matches. The South African pace attack-comprising the Test-capped trio of Kyle Abbott,Marchant de Lange and Wayne Parnell-will have a much bigger say here than in the countrys capital,Rajput believed. Rajput,a former opener himself,also added that the performance of Murali Vijay and Dhawan against the new-ball would be a crucial part of the contest. They have been so successful in home conditions and also during the one-dayers here. But this will be their real test. Im so sure they will be encountering conditions similar to these when they return later in the year, explained Rajput. While Indias top five in the batting order come the Test series in December carries a settled look,the No.6 spot could still be up for grabs-depending obviously on whether Ravindra Jadeja is considered good enough as a specialist batsman in South African conditions. And Rajput believed that this could be a crucial couple of matches for the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. Having put in a series of consistent performances as an opener in ODIs,the Mumbai right-hander does seem closer to a Test call-up than ever before. And runs against the likes of de Lange,Abbott and Parnell,despite the fact that the team they represent carrries an A in its suffix,should hold him in great stead. It is really surprising that Rohit hasnt managed to play a single Test in a career thats already spanned so many years. But there wont be a bigger opportunity the present one to make an impact and earn that Test debut or take a step towards making it happen anyway, said Rajput. fletcher joins team The India A team was also joined by senior team coach Duncan Fletcher on Friday with the Zimbabwean scheduled to stay with the team till the end of the series. His presence,felt Rajput,only accentuated the significance of the two four-day encounters. Having the national coach here is added motivation for the boys. They know that a great performance now carries more weightage and could count for a lot more. It also allows the coach to spend time with his top-order in these conditions, Rajput said.
