India’s middle-order batsman Manish Pandey talks of how the South African captain Wayne Parnell is friendliest cricketer around.

South African all-rounder Jonathan Vandier says that Kohli is a great guy to hang around with. The bonhomie between the two teams increased after South Africa qualified for the quarter-final, courtesy India’s heavy defeat of the West Indies in the group stage.

The Indians do speak about the dream of taking home the silverware and a few talk about their individual aspirations, but South Africa-bashing is conspicuous by its absence.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja says he is excited by the fact that tomorrow, people in India have the option of watching the “junior finals on one channel and the seniors on another.”

Sharing the spotlight with the big stars means a lot for those trying to find a place under the sun.

Just as one gets a feeling that the contest was getting too syrupy-sweet, South African coach Ray Jennings snarls: “India have toured seven countries over the last two years. The expectations are high. We’ve had nothing, we’ve come through the hard road, we haven’t had a four-day break. That excites me.

I’m going to come from the bottom to try scare not only India as a team but as a country!”

Jennings war-cry’s fine, but that’s still nothing compared to the WWF-style pow-wow one expects before a India-Pakistan contest. After all, had Pakistan been in the final, their coach Rana wouldn’t have been popping an olive branch, would he?