South African pacer Vernon Philander is of the opinion that India might not have the same effect in South Africa like they have back at home. India have been on a roll. They have won all their Test series since August 2015, but winning at South Africa is the ultimate challenge.

And Philander believes that it will be much more difficult since the conditions in the country are very much different to what the Indian team have in the subcontinent.

"They have played most of their games at home, so it'll be interesting to see how they go in South Africa," Philander said.

"It's a total different ball game. We're going to have to wait and see once they pass the first Test match."

While coach Ottis Gibson believes that the pitch in Cape Town has the perfect amount of grass on it for the South African pacers to exploit, Philander thinks that it is nothing to be afraid of since it won’t really do much for the pacers even with the hint of green cream on top.

"No, I wouldn't say it's greener [than other Newlands pitches]," Philander said.

"I have played all my life here. I've seen a lot of similar wickets and they haven't done much. Obviously there's a little bit of grass there, but I don't think it's going to scare anyone."

In 2011-12, Australia were embarrassed as they were bundled out for 47 runs. There were a few vertical cracks back then, which could once again be seen this time around. When a reporter asked about it, he said that the pitch 2011-12 was a “lot flatter” and the wind speed is what plays a crucial role in the determining the outcome of a game.

"I think that wicket was a little bit different to what this was," Philander said.