4 Indian captains who won Tests in South Africa
For international cricket teams, touring South Africa in Test matches is daunting, unpredictable, and potentially career-defining. No other cricketing nation quite presents the unique blend of the challenges that the Proteas’ home turf throws at visiting players. Unlike the docile batting paradises found elsewhere, South African pitches are havens for pace bowling. Lush, green surfaces offer generous swing and seam movement, making life hell for batsmen accustomed to flat tracks. The bounce is lively and unpredictable, constantly testing a batsman’s technique and reflexes.
It is because of these reasons that India, despite being a cricketing powerhouse, has failed to win a Test series in South Africa thus far. However, they achieved some memorable wins there as well. Here, we look at 4 Indian captains who led India to wins in the Rainbow Nation:
Rohit Sharma
Most recently, Rohit Sharma became the latest captain to lead India to a Test match victory on South African soil. This happened during the 2nd Test of the series at Newlands in Cape Town. Rohit orchestrated a dominant seven-wicket win which helped in leveling the series to 1-1 after South Africa’s resounding win in the first match. Rohit’s tactics were right on the money as the Proteas were blown away for just 55 runs in the first innings. Rohit’s astute field placements and smart bowling changes posed serious questions to the hosts who had no answer to them.
On what was an extremely difficult track, Rohit played a couple of great counter-attacking knocks to keep the runs flowing for India. This was also the first ever time that India won a Test match at Newlands, making it a memorable occasion. Eventually, the match became the shortest ever result-oriented game in the storied history of Test Cricket.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain and one of the best at the helm in terms of world cricket. Hence, it should not come as a surprise that Kohli has led India to two Test wins in the Rainbow Nation. the first one came back in 2018 in Johannesburg. Batting first, India made 187 on what was a spicy track. In reply, the home side made 194. India then posted 247 in the third innings thanks to significant contributions from multiple batters, exactly what was required in such testing conditions. The Proteas were then bowled out for 177 as the Indians secured a 63-run victory. While his captaincy was influential to the core, Kohli also played two solid, gritty knocks which went a long way in shaping the result.
Then in 2o21, Kohli also helped India breach the fortress, Centurion as he led India to a massive 113-run victory. India made a significant total of 327 in the first innings thanks to a sublime century by KL Rahul. In response, the hosts found it extremely tough to handle the Indian bowlers as they could only manage to string together a total of 197. India added 174 more runs to set the Dean Elgar-led side a target of 315 which was always going to be tough to hunt. Elgar and Temba Bavuma showed a lot of fight but it was not to be as they were dismissed for 191 to hand India a phenomenal win.
MS Dhoni
In 2010, India earned a famous win in South Africa under the captaincy of ‘Captain Cool’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. On a typical South African pitch which has loads in it for the bowlers, India scored 205 in the first innings. All the batters got the starts but they failed to kick on. However, the bowlers put up a remarkable show, dismissing the home side for just 131. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were the ones who did the bulk of the damage. VVS Laxman’s 96 helped India adding 228 more runs and that was too much for South Africa, despite a better showing in the second innings. They were eventually bowled out for 215 as India won the game by 87 runs.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid was in charge when India secured a brilliant 123-run win in Johannesburg in 2006. Having scored 249 in the first essay, India destroyed the home team, bundling them out for a paltry score of 84. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was the star of the show as he picked up a five-wicket haul. He destroyed the Proteas top-order with his skillful bowling which was a treat to watch for fans. India then made 236 in their second effort and while the South Africans were much better in their second innings, the damage had already been done early in the game. They made 278 but it was Rahul Dravid who had a grin on his face.
