India has been such a dominant force at home – but for the 0-3 loss to New Zealand last year – that visiting sides generally have nothing to lose.

But South Africa, this November, is coming in as the World Test Champion, and it has a standard to live up to and pedigree to protect.

“There’s expectation, but for us, it’s really to focus on what we’ve been doing as a team,” said skipper Temba Bavuma, on the eve of South Africa-A’s second multi-day match against India-A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here.

“I don’t think we’ve won a Test series here [in India] for a long time, if I’m not mistaken. So I think there’s a massive opportunity there.”

To excel in the sub-continent, good quality spin bowlers are essential. Bavuma is confident that the likes of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy can deliver as the Proteas look for their first series triumph in India since March 2000.

“Bowling has always been a strength of ours. Now, we’re probably even better poised with these spin resources. We have Tristan Stubbs as well, if we need another off-spinner. If the conditions are saying that spin is the threat, then we have the resources.

“Everything else also needs to come into play. You need the batters to score the runs. We need that cushion to allow our spinners to really get into the game.”