South Africa won the first Test by an innings and six runs, firing India out in less than four days in Nagpur for a winning start to the high-profile series between the world's top ranked teams.

"This is the one thing that we really want to tick off as a team you know, to win here in India," South Africa captain Graeme Smith said after handing India their first Test defeat at home in almost two years.

Left-handed opener Smith sustained a knock on his little finger at training on Friday and scans have revealed ligament damage.

"The medical team is confident that the swelling will subside in the next 24 hours and Smith will put his finger to the Test at Saturday's practice... after which a decision will be taken on his fitness to play in the second Test," a team statement said.

South Africa almost achieved a rare series victory in India on their previous visit two years ago when they won the second Test before India squared the series in Kanpur.

"It's hard work to win here. You need to be really clinical in terms of the game plan," Smith said.

South Africa will take back the No. 1 ranking if they win the series. Their only Test series victory in India came in 2000.

Dale Steyn took a match haul of 10-108 to rout India in Nagpur after Hashim Alma made 253 not out and Jacques Kallis hit 173 to guide the tourists to an imposing first innings total of 558-6 declared.

India's batting suffered in the absence of the experienced Rahul Dravid, Vangipurappu Laxman and Yuvraj Singh due to injuries, despite Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar scoring centuries.

No. 3 batsman Dravid (jaw) and Yuvraj (wrist) were ruled out of the entire series. Laxman (finger) was declared fit on Thursday and his return is expected to bolster the middle-order as India hope to square the series to hold on to the No.1 ranking.

"We were outplayed by South Africa in all departments of the game," captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after India's 14-match undefeated streak was snapped at Nagpur.

India included one-day specialist Suresh Raina and made two other changes to the squad for the second Test in a move to strengthen their batting.

The tourists expect the pitch at Kolkata's Eden Gardens to assist spin, India's traditional strength.

South Africa was beaten in three days in Kanpur in the deciding Test in 2008 on a pitch that subsequently came up for an official inquiry by the International Cricket Council.

Meanwhile, cricket has taken a major stride toward potential inclusion in the Olympics after Games chiefs Thursday voted to recognize the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), meeting in Vancouver, also said it would recognize the federations of sport climbing and power boating.

"They are recognized federations by us, which now means that they can take part in IOC events," said IOC director of communications Mark Adams, adding it could be seen as a first step toward becoming Olympic sports.

Cricket was granted the status of a "recognized" Olympic sport in 2007, for sports not in the Olympic program but which confirm to certain criteria such as universality, for a two-year period, pending a decision on making the move permanent.

In reaction to the decision ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat, said: "The ICC is extremely proud of the recognition given to our great sport by the IOC which we always considered to be our first step in becoming a part of the Olympic family.

"At this stage no consideration or decision has been made regarding participation or applying for approval to participate in the Olympic Games." Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has not appeared since, but it is set to feature at this year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and has been in the Commonwealth Games as recently as 1998.

Recent additions to the Olympic sports roster include golf and rugby sevens.

In Dubai, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is exploring the possibility of broadening its horizons by staging games like the Champions League Twenty20 in the United States as early as next year.

IPL chairman Lalit Modi held talks here Thursday with the CEO of USA Cricket, Donald Lockerbie, to discuss bringing the IPL to North America and also to look at allowing top American cricketers to play in the IPL.

The IPL wants the league's franchisee teams to begin playing in America as early as 2011.

Modi, in an interview on the IPL's official website, said: "The IPL has established itself as a truly global sporting league with its fans spanning the globe.

"The North American continent has emerged as the second largest market in terms of revenue and viewership for Indian cricket. Our meeting with the team from USA Cricket was very encouraging and we are confident of taking the IPL to the USA in the near future.

"I have no doubt that....cricket will soon become a popular sport in the USA." Lockerbie commented: "The IPL is a powerful new product in the sports industry and we will work hard to see USA Cricket and the IPL succeed together and energize the growth of cricket in our country."