Buoyant South Africa will look to continue their amazing nine-year unbeaten run in away Test series when they begin a four-match contest against Virat Kohli's India in Mohali from Thursday. The Proteas, the world's top-ranked Test side, have not lost a series away from home since Ashwell Prince's team suffered a 2-0 defeat in Sri Lanka in 2006.
They lived up to their reputation of being good travellers on bilateral tours by winning both the Twenty20 and one-day series on the current 10-week sojourn through India. South Africa go into the Tests seeking their first series win on Indian soil in 15 years, having drawn 1-1 on their last two tours in 2008 and 2010. Star batsman AB de Villiers, who hit three centuries in the one-day series and followed that with 112 in a practice match in Mumbai ahead of the first Test, was excited at the contests ahead. "We are very hungry for success, hungry to create history," he said. "We love travelling abroad and that's where our team spirit kicks in and plays a role. "It was an incredible achievement by us to win both the limited-overs series and there is no reason we can't win the Test series. But we know a lot of hard work lies ahead.