India vs SA: Hopefully we have learned from the NZ series, says assistant coach Ten Doeschate

Kolkata, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate is hoping that his batters have learnt lessons from the rare series-defeat at home against New Zealand last year as the hosts get ready to take on spin-heavy Proteas in the two-Test rubber, starting Friday.

Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.

South Africa's recent Test series in Pakistan saw their spin quartet of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen take 35 wickets to draw the two-match series 1-1.

"They have got four (three specialist) spinners at their disposal. Most likely they will play three and it is a little bit like playing against a subcontinent team," Ten Doeschate said during a media interaction ahead of the opening Test.

The Proteas arrive with a balanced attack in both pace and spin.

If Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen spearhead the pace department, they have three specialist spinners in Maharaj, Simon and Muthusamy.

Harmer (13), Muthusamy (11), and Maharaj (9) shared 33 wickets among them in two Tests. Muthusamy also scored 106 runs and was named Player of the Series.

"You normally worry about the pace attack first and I am pretty sure they will go with two seamers and three if not four spinners. But that is also the challenge when you are playing in the subcontinent.

"Something as a team that we need to get better at. We addressed it early on. We have come up short a few times. So it is a great challenge." The concern seems valid as India had endured an unprecedented 0-3 home defeat to New Zealand exactly a year back. The collapse came largely against spin, as Ajaz Patel (15), Mitchell Santner (13) and Glenn Phillips (8) shared 36 wickets between them.

"Hopefully we have learned from the New Zealand series. We have put some plans into place against how to play the spin. It is going to be so important over these two games. Particularly how well they did in Pakistan about four weeks ago." He further hailed South Africa's overall development and the quality of their attack, and said the visitors deserve credit for how they have rebuilt into a formidable side in all conditions.

"They deserve a lot of credit for how they have gone about their work in the last 9-10 months. The position they have found themselves in the World Test Championship, they have shown that they are a quality team -- to beat Australia in the final...," he said.

"Also, the mention of how potent they are as a spin attack makes it even more mouth-watering, to be playing them at home.

"The WTC is just so important. There is no series that you can take lightly or let slip by. Obviously, a very big step to us achieving getting to the World Test Championship Final. Everyone is looking forward to it. It should be a great contest." India have been switching formats almost non-stop since their Asia Cup T20 triumph in Dubai. It was followed by a 2-0 sweep over the West Indies, beginning their 2025-27 WTC cycle and then a white-ball tour of Australia.

"It’s not overly taxing; you just have to switch your mind tactically. The longer format demands more input from the coaching staff, but the players have become very good at adapting," he said.

He also said it's a big challenge for players like Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel to manage the three formats ahead of the next year's T20I World Cup.

"It is super challenging. You're seeing fewer and fewer guys play all three formats across the world now. Mentally, when you take on a challenge like that, you have to lay out a road map of how you're going to go about things. Gill, for example, has been very good.

On the much-debated Eden pitch, ten Doeschate said it looked "good and fair".

"Just from the early looks at the wicket, it looks a good wicket that should spin later," he said. "So yes, it is not just going to be about spin. The batters have to bat really well in the first few days when batting should be slightly easier.

"Of course, both teams have quality fast bowlers, so the challenge will be in the combinations we go in with.

"We'll rely on our seamers to make early inroads in the first couple of days. That’s what you want from a really good Test wicket -- balance, not just one facet dominating the game. But I do think spin is going to be important here in the long run,” he added.