The Young Guns: The media at home may have hyped up new Indian faces, but the fact remains that the young guns, groomed and led by the in-form Dhoni, have proved their worth. Ishant Sharma, the find of the season, will certainty lead India’s bowling attack in Zaheer Khan’s absence. He will be ably supported by RP Singh whose in-swinger can give Graeme Smith a hard time, much like how Matthew Hoggard had worked him out a few seasons ago.

Given that Irfan Pathan has finally found his lost groove, it is unlikely that either Praveen Kumar or Sreesanth will play in the Tests but if the need does arise, rest assured, they will deliver.

Home Advantage: In the past 20 years, India haVE lost just two Test series at home out of 27 and with a relatively successful tour of Australia, they will derive far more confidence from the tour than South Africa, who will come to India after a victorious tour of Bangladesh. India on home conditions are certainly a tough proposition and with the spinner-friendly tracks, they have the edge.

INDIA WEAKNESSES - Starting Problems: The opening combination has not always worked well for India. After repeated failures from Wasim Jaffer and Karthik, who had done well in England, the Indian team management has still not been able to find the perfect opening combination. With Virender Sehwag looking in scratchy form in the ODIs and Gautam Gambhir striking gold Down Under, the opening slots are still a big worry for the Indians and there is a big opportunity for the Proteas to break through.

Reserve Strength: Although the Indian middle order is certainly the best in the world, there are no worthy replacements if injury was to rule out one or two. Yuvraj Singh has been consistently underperforming at Test level and there seems nobody else who has been groomed for the job.

Old Legs: With half the side on the wrong side of 30, the Indian team surely isn’t the quickest on the field and with the South Africans one of the best fielding sides in the world, India will find scoring freely a tad difficult.

Overconfidence: Bollywood babes, auctions, open bus rides through the major cities, big bucks, movies, opening restaurants and endorsements - a day in the life of an Indian cricketer. After tasting success in Australia, the Indians must not drop their guard. Although the senior pros have seen it all, they must not let over confidence and off-field activities get in the way of cricket.

SOUTH AFRICA STRENGTHS: They couldn’t have timed their Bangladesh tour at a better time; with ideal practice and acclimatisation to the playing conditions before they land in India. South Africans have done well in India in the past. Hansie Cronje’s men won a Test series here and Graeme Smith’s men will want to repeat that.

Brilliant Batting: If the Indians have the big four, then the South Africans are not behind. Neil McKenzie and Smith are in record-breaking form and with Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers to follow, it will not be easy for the Indians to dismiss them cheaply. Shaun Pollock’s exit has meant the tail has lost some sting but they still have quality in depth.

Dale Steyn, the Wicket Machine: The next Allan Donald, Steyn has made collecting Man of the Series' awards a habit with three successive series in his kitty. India have never played Steyn before and given the instability at the top of India’s batting line-up, he is the perfect weapon with which to strike early. Steyn can also exploit Tendulkar’s vulnerability to the inswinging delivery early on and also pepper Ganguly with the short stuff. With the ever reliable Makhaya Ntini to back him up, these two are South Africa’s best bets against the famed Indian line-up.

The Jonty Factor: If there is any department in the game where the Proteas have a clear advantage over India, it is fielding. The Indians are not even in the same book, let alone on the same page. The South Africans on an average save at least 20 – 30 runs per innings and hit the stumps far more consistently than the Indians.

SOUTH AFRICAN WEAKNESSES - Poor Spin attack: The South African spinners are no match for the Indians. Good spinners have always been hard to come by in South Africa, let alone match winning ones. It is unlikely that Johan Botha and Robin Peterson will play together in the same match and with both of them still new to Test cricket, it is difficult to visualise them troubling any of the Indian batsmen.

Difficult Conditions: The last time the South Africans toured India, they encountered pleasant weather conditions in 2004, but March-April-May is the peak of the blistering Indian summer and will be difficult for the Proteas.

So there it is. The stage is set. Batting wise, both teams match each other evenly. But battles on the sub-continent are usually won by great bowling and the hosts hold the aces with the spinner-friendly pitches. The teams are more or less evenly matched, but India at home hold the advantage, albeit a wafer thin one.

Two different captains are leading their sides: one a young, impulsive, flashy captain who thinks on his feet; the other a master tactician, hard worker, the grand old man of Indian cricket, a man who has seen it all. It is too early to declare that Australian rule has ended in world cricket but the battle for the successor has already begun!