Kolkata: As South Africa are touring India for a T20I and Test series, former captain Sourav Ganguly has termed the 'Men in Blue' as favourites, saying that they are a dangerous team at home.

"India are favourites. India at home are a dangerous team. They are very hard to beat and that has been the case for years," Ganguly told reporters here on Monday (September 16).

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Ganguly called skipper Virat Kohli the best in the world but praised Australia’s Steve Smith for his incredible feat of 26 Test hundreds. Smith tops the ICC men's Test batting rankings while Kohli is in the second position.

"These are questions not to be answered. How does it matter? It's about performance. Virat is the best in the world at the moment. So that's what makes us happy," he said.

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"His (Smith) record speaks for itself. Twenty six Test hundreds is a phenomenal record," Ganguly added.

The first T20I between India and South Africa was abandoned in Dharamsala due to rain. The second T20I between both the teams will be played in Mohali on September 18.