India has had its moments in the Rainbow Nation, will look for maiden Test series win

Virat Kohli with coach Rahul Dravid during a practice session ahead of the first Test match between India and South Africa.
| Photo Credit: PTI

South Africa has produced some of cricket’s finest cricketers and a team that brimmed with extraordinary talent. But that side, led by Ali Bacher and possessing gifted cricketers like Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock and Mike Procter, didn’t get the opportunities it deserved as South Africa was banned by the ICC for the country’s apartheid policy.

The Test that the team played in 1970, against Australia at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), would be Proteas’ last for more than two decades. And it was in 1992 that the South Africans could play in another Test at home.

The opponent was India, which had earlier played host on South Africa’s return to international cricket with an ODI at Kolkata.

India has been touring the Rainbow Nation regularly after the historic tour of 1992-93. The first Test series was won by the host 1-0.

Amre sizzles on debut

The opening Test was drawn at Durban, a game in which Pravin Amre made a hundred on debut.

After the second Test at Johannesburg also produced a draw, South Africa won the third Test at Gqeberha, with speedster Allan Donald, nicknamed White Lightning, destroying India with a 12-wicket haul. The fourth Test at Cape Town also ended in a draw.

The South Africans then went on to dominate India in Tests at home.

In 1996-97, they won the three-match Test series 2-0, with Donald once again proving the tormentor, claiming 20 wickets in the series.

Five years later, they won the series 1-0.

That series would be remembered for the Mike Denness incident; the match referee and former England captain found six Indian players — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Deep Dasgupta, Harbhajan Singh and Shiv Sunder Das — guilty for offences like not informing the umpire before cleaning the ball and excessive appealing.

Not surprisingly, the second Test at Gqeberha created a storm.

India’s future tours of South Africa were all much calmer affairs.

In 2006-07, the visitors scored their first ever Test win in South Africa, thanks to sensational spells of seam bowling by S. Sreesanth (five for 40 and three for 59). The tourists won by 123 runs at Johannesburg.

India has since won another three Tests in South Africa, in 2010-11, 2017-18 and 2021-22. Now, the aim of Rohit Sharma’s men will be not just to win one more Test, but the series, something it has not achieved so far.