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Smith set to defy pain for key India Test

Smith, 29, fractured the little finger on his left hand during the team’s fielding session on Friday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where the second Test starts on Sunday.

“Injuries are a part and parcel of every sportsman’s career. It’s all about dealing with the pain. We have a very good medical staff here,” Smith told reporters at a pre-match press conference.

“The big question is whether I can give my best to the team. I need to answer that going into this important game and hopefully I will take the right decision.

“I am pretty confident I can deal with the pain and play the match.”

South Africa, who won the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs on Tuesday to go 1-0 up in the series, need a draw to dislodge India from the number one position in the official Test rankings.

Smith, however, said the bigger motivation for him and his team was to win the series after coming close in 2008 when they won the second Test after drawing the first.

But India dished out a rank turner for the decider in Kanpur to square the series. South Africa last won a Test series in India in 2000.

“Not many teams get an opportunity to win a series in India. We’ve got that opportunity now. It’s a life-time opportunity for us.

“This is the one thing that we really want to tick off as a team, to win a series here in India. We want to achieve that and we are really excited about it.

“We are fortunate that our guys have played on the emerging tours and in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and are exposed a lot more to the Indian conditions. This team is mature and very professional.

“If we produce good cricket over the next five days, rankings will take care of themselves. Winning this series will be a terrific memory.”

Smith said the team’s plan would be to attack India’s bowlers and push them on the backfoot as they did in Nagpur where they piled up 558-6 before bowling the hosts out for 233 and 319.

“India are trying not to panic,” he said. “We will try to go after their bowlers, if we do that the pressure will take its toll.”

Rival skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni backed fit-again Venkatsai Laxman to fire with the bat and make up for the absence of the injured Rahul Dravid (jaw) and Yuvraj Singh (wrist).

“Laxman is an important part of our batting line-up. He rotates the strike very well and is capable of getting the boundaries.”

Laxman, 35, has scored 6,993 runs in 109 Tests at an average of 45.70 with 14 centuries. In eight Tests at the Eden, he has amassed 898 runs including an epic 281 against Australia in 2001.

Dhoni hoped the younger batsmen in the side will grab the chance to prove themselves against a quality opposition.

“We expect the youngsters to do well as it is a dream come true for them to play against a side like South Africa. They have done well in the domestic circuit. It’s important they do not get bogged down by the pressure.

“It is a challenge when you are not doing well as a team. They beat us convincingly in Nagpur but we are hoping to play some good cricket and come back into the series.”