Faf did his homework
During Mahendra Singh Dhoni's maiden press conference last month, he was asked if he had seen the way Bangladesh performed against Pakistan -- a series which ended a couple of weeks before India's arrival.
A slightly embarrassed Dhoni admitted that he didn't exactly find the time to observe Bangladesh's players during that series but that the team would dig in the video archive to gain some more information on the younger Bangladeshi national players.
In comparison, it was a completely different atmosphere during South Africa's maiden press conference yesterday. South Africa's T20 skipper Faf du Plessis seemed as though he had done his homework.
"I watched quite a bit of the India series. There are nice young guys coming through for Bangladesh. It's incredible that Bangladesh is playing good cricket. It's good for world cricket. They are no longer minnows. They are beating big nations. It's great to see them beat India. It's a nice opportunity for a smaller team to show what they are all about," said du Plessis.
"And it also makes us come here and respect their capabilities as a team. They have played really well. But we wouldn't want any other way. We have got a strong squad. We are going to play the best players to try and beat Bangladesh," he added.
Du Plessis admitted that he was a bit surprised when he saw pacers dominate in Bangladesh's last series against India.
"I think that's a surprising factor. When you play against subcontinent teams, you expect spinners turning up and I suppose India would have thought that as well. So that was the surprise of the series. There were so many good seamers coming up in that series," said du Plessis.
"Whether they will do the same against us, I am not sure. I assume that because they did pretty well, you don't think they are going to change too much but there will probably be a bit more spin option against us," he added.
He also mentioned that he was aware of Mustafizur Rahman, the young left-arm pacer whose 13 wickets in the series led Bangladesh to the historic series win.
"I have had a look at him while watching the game. But we haven't had a closer look at him. We didn't really sit down on his video footages as yet. I did see that he did really well. But we can learn from the way India didn't play too well against him. We can make changes," explained du Plessis.
A crucial factor that will play a role in the series, according to du Plessis, is the temperature. Describing the conditions as a challenge, the South African believed that his side would be able to overcome it soon.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo echoed du Plessis's sentiments. He recalled the fact that South Africa had beaten Sri Lanka in both Test and ODI series in 2014, the last time they toured the subcontinent. They also beat Pakistan in the UAE back in November 2013.
"I think South Africa's record in the subcontinent has been good in the recent past. The subcontinent seems to bring out the best of South Africa. The guys really connect well as a team," said Domingo.