Ind vs SA: India’s top three best performances in Test cricket on South African soil

Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, India will look to win a Test series in South Africa for the first time in history when they begin a three-match series on December 26 in Centurion. The first game will be played at the SuperSports Park in Centurion while the second and third game is set to take place from January 3 and January 11 in Johannesburg and Centurion.

South Africa is the only major cricketing country remaining where India are yet to win a Test series. Many experts in the cricket fraternity are claiming this to be India’s best opportunity to win a red-ball series in the Rainbow nation.

While India are yet to win a series on South African soil, they have been some memorable performances from the team in South Africa which have seen them produce some remarkable results. Here is a look at the three best performances by an Indian in South Africa- 

3) Johannesburg 19997 

India almost tasted their first-ever victory on South African soil during their tour of the country in 1997 under the leadership of the great Sachin Tendulkar. After losing the first two games of the three-match series, India made a strong comeback in the final game in Johannesburg and were on the brink of victory. 

Batting first, India put a strong total of 410 on the board with Rahul Dravid scoring a century. In response, South Africa were bowled out for 321 with Javagal Srinath taking a five-wicket haul. India followed it up another strong batting performance as Dravid, Nayan Mongia, and Sourav Ganguly made half-centuries to set South Africa a massive target of 325. 

In the fourth innings, India had South Africa struggling at 77-5 before thunderstorms brought the game to a halt. As the weather continued to get worse, Daryll Cullinan made a remarkable century to keep the hosts alive in the game. However, with India needing two wickets and four overs remaining, the game was called off due to bad weather. 

2) Durban 2010 

Going into the series as the World number one side in Test cricket, India suffered a massive defeat in the first match at Centurion despite Sachin Tendulkar scoring his 50th Test century. However, the Dhoni-led outfit made a strong comeback in the second game at Durban. A disappointing effort saw India get bowled out for 205 in the first innings but the bowlers made amends by restricting South Africa to just 135 with Harbhajan Singh taking four wickets while Zaheer Khan took three. 

In their second innings, India built on their advantage by scoring 228 and setting South Africa a target of 303. With a knock of 96, VVS Laxman was India’s savior. Ultimately, India registered an 87-run victory to level the series as Zaheer and Sreeshant led India’s charge with three-wicket hauls. 

1) Johannesburg 2006

India came back into the Test series in 2006 against South Africa on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 defeat in the ODI series. With their back-against-the walls, the Rahul Dravid-led side produced one of their best ever performances away from home in the longest format to register their first-ever victory in a Test match on South African soil. Batting first, India put up a total of 249 on the board with Sourav Ganguly scoring a gritty half-century on his return to the team after almost a year. 

However, it was the bowlers who stole the show by bowling South Africa out for just 84. Sreesanth was the star for the visitors with a five-wicket haul. In their second innings, India scored 249 with Laxman’s knock of 73 helping India set a massive target for South Africa. 

Despite a knock of 97 by Ashwell Prince, South Africa were bowled out for 278 to ensure a 123-run victory for India with Zaheer, Sreeshant, and Anil Kumble taking three wickets each.