The South Africa team arrived in Mumbai early Friday morning after a technical snag delayed their flight by around three hours.
Scheduled to reach at 0005 hrs IST, the flight eventually landed at Mumbai airport at 0315 hrs IST.
"There was a technical problem. We boarded the flight, it started, but then the pilot informed us that there was some problem with the plane and we will need to board another one.
"We then landed, went to the airport and boarded another flight, which caused such a big delay. We apologize for it," said South Africa's media manager Gerald de Kock.
But captain Graeme Smith got down straight to business in his first press conference on the tour of India.
"We are a young and an inexperienced side, but we have done our homework very well and are capable of performing well in India. We had a good training camp and we are looking forward to playing some good cricket," he said.
"It's always hard to play in India. But we have quite a few youngsters and will be very unpredictable. The stats count against us but we are positive and confident.
"Playing in India is different than playing in South Africa and Australia. You have got to prepare differently. We had a training camp in Johannesburg, where we prepared on wickets which had turn and bounce," he added.
Smith also reminded everyone that the Proteas had beaten India last time around in 2000.
"India can be beaten. We beat them last time in 2000 and there is no reason why we cannot beat them again."
He said they would miss two of their key players, Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje, during the two-Test series, beginning November 20.
The two players opted out of the tour fearing interrogation by the Delhi police in relation to the match-fixing case.
"We will definitely miss Gibbs and Boje. They are class performers who have done well for South Africa, but we do have some very young and talented players who can do well on this tour," he said.
Smith also had a word of praise for new coach, Ray Jennings, who took over from Eric Simons in October.
"Our new coach has brought a new dimension and new approach to the team. He has been very helpful and we have learnt a lot under him."
Later, the 14-member team left for Jaipur, where they open their tour with a match against the Board President's Eleven from November 14 to 16.
The first Test is at Kanpur, from November 20 to 24, while the second is at Kolkata from November 28 to December 2.
More from rediff