NAGPUR, India — South Africa will draw confidence from their record on the subcontinent as they seek to replace India at the top of the world rankings in their two-Test series starting Saturday.
India dislodged South Africa as the number one Test side in December after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 at home, and a series victory against the Proteas would consolidate their position.
South Africa can snatch back the coveted ranking only if they win the series 2-0. A 1-0 victory would leave both teams level on 123 points.
"India now hold the mantle of number one in the world, which is a credit to the way they have played," South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said ahead of the first Test in Nagpur.
"But we have come here to hopefully play better than them, and take it away from them. That's something we are talking about."
Smith said it was tough to win a series in the subcontinent and success is "a real feather in your cap."
"But we won in Pakistan on our last tour there, we won in Bangladesh, we came very close to winning the series here in India. We were 1-0 going into the last Test, so I think generally we have played well," he said.
"I think we have got a very positive mindset when it comes to playing in the subcontinent, which is important."