Cape Town - Often perceived as only having Test success on their own soil, this Indian group is determined to show that they are good enough to get results away from home and, more significantly, in South Africa, England and Australia.

To their credit, there have been absolutely no issues with the state of the wickets on their South African tour so far.

From the day they arrived in South Africa, coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli have said that there would be no excuses if things did not go their way.

That stance was put to the test when, in Cape Town, India's batsmen were blown away on a green wicket that did everything to help the fast bowlers.

Still, though, there were no complaints.

Kohli may have been forgiven for feeling a little better about the wicket in Centurion for the second Test.

Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis said earlier on Thursday that he had expected more green on the surface, but Kohli was not having any of it.

He is still expecting a wicket that is pace-friendly, and after watching his own seamers excel in cape Town, that is something that he is embracing.

"It looks like a really lively pitch and exactly what we expected it to be," Kohli said.

"We actually wanted it to be that way so that both teams are into the contest provided they play some good cricket.

"We were pretty happy to see the wicket and how it behaved in Cape Town ... that gave us many opportunities to stay in the game and make comebacks when we were put under pressure.

"This pitch will again Test us to play our best cricket and that is something that we're looking forward to."

Kohli added that there were still a number of selection issues that needed resolving before play got underway on Saturday morning.

"At this stage everybody is still in the running and no decisions have been made," he said.

India must win in Pretoria to keep their hopes of becoming the first Indian side to win a Test series in South Africa alive.

Play on Saturday starts at 10:00.