And for both sides, it is this shift in format - from slam bang to innings building, from containment-centric bowling and fielding to aggressive field settings and wicket-taking bowling styles - that will present both the challenge, and the problem.
South Africa hasn't played Test cricket since January this year. India has done better - a three Test series against England, and a one-off Test against Australia - in the interim period. But given the enormous amounts of one day cricket that has been played in the recent past, the major problem for players of the two teams will be shifting orientation and playing style to the needs of the longer version of the game.
Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar underlined this point, when he said on arrival at Ahmedabad that ``I know it is going to be very difficult. We have played so much one day cricket over the last month or so, that we needed rest. Now we are about to play Tests - we need to concentrate on hanging in there, and playing longer innings.''
As always, weather and wicket will play a major part in the proceedings. And weatherwise, the major factor is the dew that falls thick over this part of the world at this time of the year. The Gujarat Cricket Association has acquired the high tech SuperSoaker to rid the ground of dew - but no matter how well the hi-tech mop does its job, the dew will definitely impact on the play, at least during the first session of each day's play.
As for the wicket, curator Bhagirath Thakore promises a sporting track, with the likelihood of getting spin-friendly by day three. Lookswise, the track is brown, and looks very firm. ``There will be even bounce,'' Thakore says.
Neither Hansie Cronje nor Sachin Tendulkar believe this, though. The two captains made it very clear that they expect this track to help spinners. In fact, so heavy is the feeling that while the Indian selectors have included four spinners in the squad of 14, South African captain Cronje has backtracked on his earlier bravado and is now making pleasant noises regarding the arrival in India of mystery spinner Paul Adams.
Which brings us to the question of team composition. The Indian skipper has already indicated - in fact, even defended his notion of sending Sanjay Manjrekar and Nayan Mongia as openers for the coming Test. ``I don't agree with the description of this pair as 'makeshift','' Sachin told the media at Ahmedabad. ``Sanjay Manjrekar has very good technique against pace bowling, while Nayan has guts and temperament. Of course, it is not fair to Nayan to ask him to open all the time, but with Sidhu and Saurav Ganguly both unfit, Nayan is the best option we have.''
The batting lineup will have Dravid, Azhar and Sachin himself, batting numbers three through five. V V S Laxman looks set to make his debut at number six - though he has been moulded as an opener by no less than M L Jaisimha - and Joshi will come in at seven. Googly bowler Narendra Hirwani, judging by the noises made by the Indian think tank, is likely to be preferred to Aashish Kapoor, while Kumble, Srinath and Prasad complete the lineup.
Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar is a lot more open with the media now than he was during the recent Titan Cup. So much so that he even addressed the sensitive question of former schoolmate and Test discard Vinod Kambli with equanimity. ``Vinod has an average of over 58 in Test cricket, but he has not got a half century in his last nine Tests,'' Sachin pointed out. ``I don't want to run him down, he is a very good player. But he has to get runs now, and work his way back into the side.''
By contrast Cronje - who, during the Titan Cup, became a media favourite by announcing his playing eleven, and even his match strategy, a full 24 hours before each game, has become much more circumspect.
While he did discuss his side in general terms, Cronje on the eve of the Test refused to pin himself down to such matters as team composition and match strategy. Even simple questions like the importance of the toss were met with noncomittal comments on the order of ``There is no readymade answers to such questions - look what happened to Australia in Delhi, when they won the toss and batted first.''
Cronje said that while he expected the wicket to take turn, he was not sure whether Adams, who arrived in India late Monday evening, would be playing in the first Test. He did, however, indicate that two spinners would definitely form part of his line-up, while admitting that his side's weakness lay in its batting.
``In our two warm up games, against Karnataka and the Board President's XI, our fast bowlers fired on the slow wickets, but our batting failed to put up really big scores. We'll need to do better in the Tests, given that India's strength is its batting,'' Cronje pointed out.
In that reply lies an indication that in form batsman Herschelle Gibbs, who alone was able to play the destructive Venkatapathy Raju with a measure of confidence during the game against the BP XI, could figure in the eleven, perhaps at the expense of ace fielder Jonty Rhodes.
``The Titan Cup loss was one of those things,'' Cronje said. ``Sure, we were disappointed at the time, but that tournament is over and done with, we need to concentrate on the Tests and that is a different ball game,'' the South African captain told the media. ``We know that the common belief is that India is almost invincible on home soil, but we just might prove conventional thinking wrong.''
Thus much, from the two sides.
Meanwhile, what of the prognosis?
Easy enough to say it is going to be a hard fought game, with both sides keen to establish an early ascendancy over the other.
Easy enough to say that the side that puts its head down, and whose batsmen play the long, grafting innings will have the edge over the other.
But the easiest prediction to make, on the eve of the first Test, is this - the side that wins the toss and bats first at Ahmedabad will have more of an edge than the one condemned, by the spin of the coin, to bat last on what could, by days four and five, be a tricky little turner.