India’s Test Records in South Africa: The Indian Cricket team has turned heads around by winning the ODI series by 2-1 & now they are aiming to re-script history by registering their first Test series win on South African soil. Notably, KL Rahul became the only second Indian Captain in history to register an ODI series win in South Africa. Now Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid have one agenda in mind which is to register a historic Test series win in South Africa. Hosts have always dominated their opponents in Tests at home but India wants to break the jinx & emerge victorious in the ongoing Test series after dominating the hosts in limited overs format.
The ongoing Test series is a part of the WTC 2021-2023 cycle & currently, both teams are playing the first Test of the series at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Cape Town will be the center stage for the second & final test between both nations.
India vs South Africa Head-to-Head Test record:
On home soil, South Africa has a blistering record against the Indian team with 12 wins in 23 Test matches & just 4 losses so far. India’s last Test win in proteas came during the Boxing Day match in 2021 when the Indian team was led by Virat Kohli. Indian team has won three of their last five Test matches against South Africa but in head-to-head South Africa dominates India. For the unversed India is yet to win a Test series on South African soil.
When the Test series is considered, India is yet to win a test series on South African soil. So far they have played 8 Test series in which South Africa won seven while one ended in a draw.
Currently, India is locking horns with South Africa in a match Test series. So as the play is going on let’s have a look at India’s Test Records in South Africa.
India’s Test Records in South Africa
1992-93 South Africa vs India: South Africa won the series
The first time when India faced South Africa in Test format was back in 1992. The Men in Blue toured South Africa for a four-match Test series & it was Proteas who outclassed India with a 1-0 series win. South Africa won this Test in Port Elizabeth by nine wickets with Allan Donald being the star performer.
1996-1997 South vs India: South Africa won
Four years after touring South Africa for the first time, India made a point of touring Proteas land again in 1996. The results were no different as Proteas were successful in registering a victory again on their home soil. South Africa won the three-match Test series by 2-0 score. It was the first two fixtures in Durban & Capetown that decided the fate of South Africa & resulted in another defeat for India.
India lost the Durban Test by a huge margin of 328 runs. It was quite humiliating for the Indian batting order as they couldn’t outclass South Africa at any point. Allan Donald starred with the ball with nine wickets in the fixture. Venkatesh Prasad, who ended up on the losing side, claimed fifers in both innings.
Then came the Capetown Test where Proteas again dominated India by winning the fixture by 282 runs. Here Brian McMillan won the Man of the Match award for the second time in the series. With two outstanding performances, South Africa won the series by 2-0.
2001-2002 South Africa vs India: South Africa won
India toured South Africa in 2001 & where also India suffered a defeat making it the third time in a row. The hosts claimed the trophy for the third time in a row with a 1-0 win. The first Test was won by South Africa with the second ending with No result.
In the first Test, the hosts beat India by 9 wickets. The Indian team did the best from their side with Virender Sehwag (105) & Sachin Tendulkar (155) scoring centuries each but it was the Proteas who took the cake by chasing the target & registering a massive victory. India’s dream of registering a win on South African soil remained just a dream with Proteas walking away with the series.
2006-2007 South Africa vs India: South Africa Won
This was a remarkable series for the Indian team who registered their first-ever Test win on South African soil in this series. Men in Blue took a 1-0 lead in the series but South Africa walked away with a win in both the Tests to claim the series by 2-1.
India won the first fixture by 123 runs thanks to an eight-wicket haul by S Sreesanth. Proteas pacer Makhya Ntini responded likewise picking up as many wickets in the second match of the series. In the series decider at Cape Town, the hosts won by five wickets. In the series decider at Cape Town the hosts won by 5 wickets. Captain Graeme Smith scored two fifties guiding his team to win.
2010-2011 South Africa vs India: Series Drawn
The three-match Test series ended in a draw 1-1 as teams canceled each other out. Proteas won the first Test by an inning & 125 runs. India then proved their mettle in the second fixture in Durban recording a sound 87-run win. But it was the third Test that didn’t go well for any of the teams with the Test ending in a draw & both the nations sharing the trophy.
2013-14 South Africa vs India: Proteas won
The hosts managed another stellar win over India. In a two-match Test Series, it was South Africa that won the second Test in Durban with the first ending in a draw. The second Test was a perfect piece of humiliation for India who suffered a major 10 wicket loss at the hands of South Africa.
For South Africa, Dale Steyn emerged as a star performer with both bat & ball. The pacer scored a match-winning 44-run knock with the bat. He then capitalized on his bowling performance by scalping eight wickets & helping the team to win the series.
2017-2018 South Africa vs India: South Africa Win
During India’s tour of South Africa in 2017, India continued its losing spree by registering a 2-1 series loss. The Indian team lost the first two matches & eventually lost the series. South Africa was successful in registering two consecutive wins by winning the first Test by 72 runs in Cape Town & went on to win the second Test by 135 runs in Centurion.
India somehow managed to avoid a series whitewash by registering a win in the third & final Test held in Johannesburg. Vernon Philander was the star performer with 15 wickets in three matches. He was successful in guiding the hosts to another Test series win against South Africa.
2021-2022 South Africa vs India: South Africa Won
Indian team woes continued in front of South Africa who lost the series again in 2022. Just like the 2006-2007 tour, India began the series with 1-0 lead. In the first Test, India won the match by 113 runs defending a target of 305 runs.
But that didn’t affect the hosts who bounced back in the series by winning both the remaining games by seven wickets. Dean Elgar scored an unbeaten 96 in the run chase. Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada also picked 13 wickets between them.
In the Cape Town Test, proteas was successful in chasing a target of 212 runs. It was just like a cakewalk for them with opener Keegan Petersen doing the honors by rattling India’s spine, with two half-centuries (76 & 82) in the game. The series ended in South Africa’s favor and India’s search for a win in Test continues.
India’s Test Records against South Africa are poor & they are yet to register a Test series win on South African soil.
Can they turn their fortunes & re-script history by registering their maiden Test series win on Proteas soil or their losing spree will continue in this series as well? Share with us your views & let’s see who will get the Prediction right.
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