1st Test: Young India braces for WTC champions South Africa's spin threat

India walk into the first Test against South Africa knowing precisely where the real contest will unfold. For all the talk of a young side growing in confidence, the memory of last year's collapse against New Zealand's spinners still lingers. Three Tests, 36 wickets shared by Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips, and a 0-3 defeat at home. That bruising series remains in the background as India prepare to face a South African side that has now embraced spin as its primary weapon.

South Africa arrive in Kolkata with a well-earned sense of belief after a 1-1 draw in Pakistan , achieved without captain Temba Bavuma. Their spinners, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, claimed 35 of the 39 wickets in that series, comfortably outperforming Pakistan's own slow bowle