The Test series well and truly in the bag, India will want to finish the Freedom Series on a high when they play South Africa in the fourth Test match in Delhi from Thursday.

There has been much debate over the nature of the pitches for this Test match series, but at the end of the day India have been the much better team, and therefore find themselves 2-0 up with a match to go.

Also Read

It is safe to say that India would have probably been 3-0 up in the series and targeting a whitewash had the second Test match in Bengaluru not been rained out.

South Africa's T20 captain Faf Du Plessis admitted the conditions have been too difficult for his team to handle, even the experienced ones.

"These have been the toughest conditions that I have played under, it's also been a challenge for the young guys coming in," Du Plessis was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"It's a hard task for them because they get judged by playing Test cricket in these conditions where you have found that even our experienced players have found it tough. We have to keep motivating them and to keep the spirits high.

"I'm a senior player and I'm finding it tough because the conditions dictate the way you play and your performances. It's important for us to try and keep the younger players positive, and we've done that."

South Africa showed a lot more fight in the second innings of the third Test match in Nagpur, with Du Plessis and Hashim Amla battling it out in the middle. While that was not enough in the end, it would have given them some kind of encouragement going into this final Test.

"What we have to try and do is to focus on the positives," Du Plessis added. "Coming and facing this in your first Test series abroad is a challenge.

"The good thing about it is you can learn from this and improve your game. Even I have learnt a lot about my game in the last few matches. I've concentrated on my defence against spin in the first 20 balls I face."

The wicket in Delhi is not expected to be as much of a turner, but that does not mean it will not help the spinners. South Africa will need to bat a lot better than they have done so far, especially against R Ashwin, who has been superlative with the ball.

Virat Kohli, captaining for the first time in his hometown, will expect his main man to step up with the ball again, while also expecting his batsmen to do a lot better. India's batsmen haven't been that much better than their counterparts in this series, and had it not been for the brilliant bowling of their spinners, this Test series would have been a lot closer.

4th Test match schedule: India vs South Africa.

Date: Thursday, 3 December to Monday, 7 December.

Time: 9.30 am IST (6 am SAST, 4 am GMT, 11 pm ET).

Session timings: First session: 9.30-11.30 am. Lunch: 11.30 am to 12.10 pm. Second session: 12.10-2.10 pm. Tea: 2.10-2.30 pm. Third session: 2.30-4.30 pm.

Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.

TV listings: India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD3. South Africa: SuperSport. UK: Sky Sports 2. USA: Willow TV. Middle East: OSN Play.