Hundred years of shared history and a love for Cricket

June 7, 1893, a night that is not remembered by many. Young Mohandas Gandhi, dressed as an Englishman was tossed off a train in South Africa. This incident triggered a catastrophe which not only lead India to its Independence but also marked the erosion of South African apartheid. Nelson Mandela being an ideal disciple of Gandhi brought major reforms in the African Nation and completed the work which was left undone by Gandhi.

This Jodi sparked a never ending friendship beyond boundaries, and it is a moment of great pleasure that that the upcoming Cricket series between India and South Africa has been named as Gandhi-Mandela series.

As a follow up ES brings you a brief history of the amazing cricket played between these two Nations.

 “I know how Neil Armstrong felt when he stood on the moon”, these words by  South African captain Clive Rice were enough to depict the emotional side of the first ever series between these two Nations.  Due to excessive racist policies, South Africa was isolated from International fold for nearly 22 years. In1991 they were welcomed in India for a three match ODI series.

Calcutta hosted the first one day and thousands of people lined up on the streets just to greet the players. Eden Gardens exceeded its capacity as per the reports. India clinched a low scoring thriller and moved 1-0 up in the series. However South Africa discovered a world class bowler in form of Allan Donald. He took 5-29 in this match. India won the next match in Gwalior and with this the series as well. Proteas had a consolation win in the final match as Kepler Wessels and Peter Kirsten guided the side home in a high-scoring encounter under lights. This was an emotional series for South Africa.

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India toured the African Nation for a four match Test series followed by a seven match ODI series. Indians were outclassed in all departments as the lost both the series.

Test Series got a perfect kickstart as Kapil Dev dismissed Jimmy Cook of the very first ball of the match. Pravin Amre’s fighting century ensured a draw for India on a bouncy track. The second test followed the same pattern as Brian McMillan’s sturdy all-round performance kept the hosts on top for most part of the match. Allan Donald was the wrecker in chief in the Third test as India were blown off in style. He took match figures of 12 for 139 as South Africa won the match, despite Kapil Dev’s scintillating knock of 129. Fourth test also ended in a lame draw as both teams decided to play on backfoot.

India gave no competition to the hosts in one dayers as they lost by a margin of 5-2.

Tests South Africa 1 India 0
ODIs South Africa 5 India 2

This South African side was much stronger than the previous one to tour India, led by their most successful captain  Hansie Cronje. The tour began with a Tri-series which featured Australia as the third team. South Africa won all their league games only to choke in the Final match against India, thus handing them the trophy.

Test series began in Ahmedabad with Sachin Tendulkar captaining the Indian side. The pitch showed inconsistent bounce as batsman perished. South Africa fancied their chances chasing a mere total of 170, but India’s spearhead Javagal Srinath had other ideas as he ripped through the batting lineup with 6 for 21 to seal a surprise win for India. South Africa made a strong comeback in the next match at Calcutta, the match which was full of jaw dropping individual performances- Azharuddin’s blistering century off 74 balls, Lance Klusener’s dream debut with innings figures of 8 for 64, and Gary Kirsten’s twin centuries. The third Test at Kanpur proved to be a tough nut to crack for Proteas as India won the series riding on Azharuddin’s match winning knock of 163. This was a perfect start for Tendulkar as captain.

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Indian batsman  got a taste of some ferocious fast bowling as stumps kept on flying during the entire series. In the first Test match at Durban India were bundled out for 100 and 66 in either innings as South Africa took a sweet revenge for their recent loss in India. In the next match at Cape Town, the margin of loss widened. South Africa piled on three centuries in their first innings. With massive deficit of 471 runs and half of the side back in pavilion Sachin Tendulkar(116) and Mohammad Azharuddin(105) took the attack back to the bowlers but couldn’t stop the inevitable as India folded in the second innings to give away the match as well as the series. In the final match India discovered a new hero and World class batsman, Rahul Dravid who tried his very best to win the match but bad light dashed India’s hopes of winning the Johannesburg Test.

Test series was followed by a Tri-series which featured Zimbabwe as the third team. South Africa won the series in a closely contested final.

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South Africa ended a 13 year old jinx by beating India in their own backyard. Vulnerable Indian team was caught off guard in their home conditions. The top order failed miserably in the first Test Match. Barring Tendulkar no one stood up to the occasion. South Africa won the second Test match at Bangalore and ended a modest season for the Indians. They won the series 2-0. Tendulkar quit the captaincy following a heartbreaking loss.

India rebounded in the ODI series under new captain Sourav Ganguly and won the series 3-2. It was shortly after the series that match fixing allegations came into light which involved three players from South African side namely Hansie Cronje, Nicky Boje and Henry Williams.

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ODIs India 3 South Africa 2

The controversial “Mike Denness affair” marked this series. In the first Test at Bloemfontein, debutant Virender Sehwag scored a hundred. as South Africa registered an easy win. The second at Port Elizabeth was overshadowed by match referee Denness’s ruling, in which he found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball-tampering and handed out one-Test bans for five other Indians for excessive appealing. This wasn’t easy to digest as Indian Board protested heavily. They were of opinion that the ruling was based on racial implications and after much pleading agreed to play the third Test match. India drew the second and lost the Final match(unofficial) by an innings. South Africa won the Standard Bank tri-series also featuring Kenya.

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Even before the start of South Africa’s third test tour to India, they threatened to pull out  if they failed to get any assurances that Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will not be prosecuted by the Indian police in the match-fixing scandal. However both the players pulled out and the tour went ahead as scheduled. Andrew Hall’s stubborn hundred in the first Test match at Kanpur frustrated India. After a tame draw, India won the second Test match at Kolkata as the spin duo of Kumble and Harbhajan shared all ten second innings wickets.  Due to lack of time one dayers were agreed to play at a later stage.

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South Africa returned for a five match ODI series which was rescheduled previously. With South Africa undefeated from 15 matches and India with a 6-1 victory against Sri Lanka, this series turned out to be a close fought contest. South Africa won the first match on a seaming pitch in Hyderabad. India pulled back things comprehensively on a slow track in Bangalore. The third match  in Chennai was washed away due to persistent rain. The controversial decision to exclude Sourav Ganguly from his own team stole the limelight of the fourth ODI, which South Africa won by ten wickets. India squared the series after Dravid steered the team home in the last one day in Mumbai.

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After a thrashing defeat of 4-0 in the one dayers, India came back strongly to win their first ever Test on African soil under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Sreesanth’s five-wicket haul broke the backbone of African batting lineup. South Africa came back strongly in the next match at Kingsmead. Riding on Prince’s century and Makhaya Ntini’s fifer, they managed an easy win. The third Test was evenly contested with pulsating moments throughout the match. The new opening pair of Jaffer and Karthik dictated terms on the first day. However Graeme Smith’s century made sure that the momentum shifted towards the African side. India led to their own downfall with some miserable batting performances in the second innings, thus handing over the series    2-1.

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ODIs South Africa 4 India 0
Only Twenty20 international was won by India

The first Test at Chennai was dominated by batsmen. Sehwag scored his second Triple hundred to join the elite list of Sir Don Bradman and Brian Lara. In humid conditions batsman from both sides cashed in as the match ended in a draw.The second Test at Ahmedabad witnessed fiery bowling from South African pacers. The duo of Steyn and Ntini ripped through India’s batting order, bundling them out for a mere total of 76. This was the shortest ever Test innings in subcontinent as it lasted for only 20 overs. South Africa wrapped things quickly despite Indian batsmen putting a good show in second innings.  India squared the series after winning the final Test at Kanpur. Ganguly and Laxman played crucial knocks and were ably supported by lower order to gain a handy lead of 60 runs in first innings.  With a strange response from South African side, India managed to win the game within three days.

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