``Our main goal on this tour is to prove that India can win on foreign soil,'' said Tendulkar, whose record thus far of three wins in his first four Tests as captain only seems to have made him hungry for more.

Speaking in Bombay on the eve of the team's departure for South Africa, the Indian skipper said that the home series, climaxed by the 2-1 win in the McDowell series, had put the new look Indian team in perspective. ``What we proved, first and foremost, is that the side does not buckle under. We came back after the defeat at Calcutta, and went on to win the series, proving that the team has the ability to fight back.''

Asked whether the fact of playing South Africa on its own pitches wouldn't make a difference to the Indian side, Tendulkar said, ``It is expected that the pitches will be different. But then, the South Africans also know that we have the werewithal to exploit such seaming wickets. Our new ball bowlers, Srinath and Prasad, have already created a powerful impression on their batsmen, and we have two very good back-up bowlers in David Johnson and Ganesh.''

``All in all,'' said Tendulkar, ``I think our batsmen will adapt to their bowling on their wickets, better than they adapted to spin on our wickets.''

An interesting question this tour has thrown up is the one relating to unruly crowd behaviour, which on two occasions forced S'African skipper Hansie Cronje to lead his men off the field. Asked what he would do in case of crowd disturbance in South Africa, Tendulkar said, ``It is not for me to take the team off the field, I would prefer to leave the decision about whether play should continue to the umpires and the match referee.''

Asked about the balance of the team, most especially the presence of three wicketkeepers, Tendulkar preferred to sidestep the question. In a statement that appeared to pre-empt the selectors and let the public into his own thinking, Tendulkar however emphatically said that ``I expect players like Ajay Jadeja, Sunil Joshi and Vinod Kambli to be flown in for the one-dayers. All they have to do is keep up their hopes, and keep performing in domestic cricket, in the meantime.''

Acknowledging that the South African side was highly professional and motivated, Tendulkar pointed out that it was for this reason that his team had gone flat out to win the Pepsi Challenge oneday international on December 16, the last game of the Indian leg of the tour. ``We intend to be as competitive as South Africa was,'' said Tendulkar. ``I did not want to give South Africa an opportunity to win the one-dayer at Mumbai - that defeat has, I think, demoralised them. And they know that we will now be going flat out to win on their home soil as well.''