South African captain Graeme Smith on Friday made light of his young team's lack of experience and said motivation was the biggest strength of his side.

Smith conceded that the Indians would start the two-match Test series, beginning in Kanpur on Saturday, as favourites but felt his young team had the potential to make life tough for the home team.

"Motivation is our strength. We have the youthful exuberence. We hav a number of young guys keen to do well at the highest level. They have the ability to perform and it will be a good experience for all of them," he said at a press conference in Kanpur.

The 23-year-old Smith, the youngest ever South African captain, said a tour of India was a big challenge and his players were looking foward to the matches ahead.

"Every tour is a challenge, a tour of India has its own challenges. We have to cope with new conditions and hopefully we will be able to make a mark."

The South Africans, who are going through a transition phase, have as many as seven players in the sqaud who have very little or no experience of playing international cricket.

Asked whether his new-look team had prepared adequately for the tour, Smith said, "we had a camp before coming to India and I think we have prepared well. We have come here concentrating on what we can do."

Like his Indian counterpart Sourav Ganguly, Smith said that the toss may not be that vital.

"I don't think that the toss will be very important. The first innings total will be very important, so some of our batters have to get the big scores," he said.

On the pitch, the left-handed opener said the track would assist the spinners at some stage.

"I am pretty sure that it would turn. At the end of the day, it is important to play good cricket on all the five days. We have to keep our focus."

Asked whether the team will miss the services of opener Herschelle Gibbs, who opted out of the tour fearing interrogation by Delhi Police in connection with the 2000 match-fixing case, Smith said the team was bound to miss such an experienced cricketer.

"Without Gibbs, we lose a lot of experience. He is a world class performer and has scored runs everywhere. But we have new guys who have a lot of ability and I hope they come good."