We have a real hunger and desire to beat India in India, says Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj

If there was any tiny doubt about how difficult it is to win in India, then a quick glance at the Proteas’ record over the past nine Tests here on the bustling subcontinent serves as a cold reminder. 

Seven defeats, a single victory and one match abandoned due to an unseasonal Bengaluru monsoon since 2010.

“It's probably one of the toughest tours, if not the toughest tour in the Proteas calendar,” experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj admitted on Tuesday.  

There is something different about this upcoming two-match series, which starts at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Friday.

Unlike the last visit here in 2019, when the team was in disarray after a wretched World Cup campaign, held together by a part-time management staff, and the entire game in a complete flux back home, the Proteas have arrived in India with the World Test Championship belt in their possession – a feat that has eluded their hosts on two occasions.

They also have a trusted coaching staff, led by the eccentric genius Shukri Conrad, that has been able to get their best out of them even though they don’t possess the calibre of former Proteas greats such as AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith.

They are now more than the sum of their parts – a collective that conquered the steepest mountains and fronted up to the greatest challenges – like the one that sits on the doorstep right now. 

“There's a real hunger and desire within the camp to obviously beat India in India,” Maharaj said.

“As a unit, we feel like it's one of our biggest tests. Whenever someone needs to put their hand up, it's shared amongst the group wholeheartedly.

“It will be a wonderful opportunity to grade ourselves, to see how far we've come. Slowly but surely, we started to conquer other parts of the subcontinent. And I feel like this is one assignment that we really, really want to take.” 

Much of it will depend on the conditions the Proteas are faced with in Kolkata and Guwahati after previous tours here saw the visitors greeted with dustbowls that have spun prodigiously. 

If Sujan Mukherjee, the chief curator of Eden Gardens, comments of "it's a five-day wicket — it will turn, but not abruptly" are to be believed, then a packed Eden Garden could be in for a spectacle, particularly taking into account the classics these two sides have served up previously at the iconic venue. 

Maharaj also feels India will tread on the side of caution with the left-arm spinner not expecting a raging turner. 

“I think if you watched a bit of the West Indies series, now that India played against West Indies at home, it was good wickets that went, you know, almost to day four and five,” he said.

“I do believe that the sort of narrative is changing in terms of getting wickets. So, maybe the conditions are felt that we play on good cricket wickets and let the game deteriorate as it goes on. But, in regards to us, I think there's a real preciseness about how we've gone about our business throughout this cycle so far, and in the previous cycle in the sub.

“Just focusing on those things and focusing on the skills that we do really well as a unit. I think partnerships have been a big one for us, whether it be bowling or batting partnerships, it's important.”