How India fared in their previous tours of South Africa

Safari series 1996-97

Allan Donald caused lot of problems to the Indian batsmen with his fiery bowling

India led by Sachin Tendulkar started their second sojourn in South Africa with a 3 Test series. This series was named the Safari series, but it turned out to be a suffering series for the visitors.

India started their first Test on a bouncy Kingsmead track at Durban. After bowling out the Proteas for 235, India was bundled out for 100. In the second innings, they were dismissed for 66. They lost the next test at Cape Town despite the heroic efforts of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin.

India came close to winning the next Test match at the Wanderers thanks to the efforts of magnificent Rahul Dravid, but couldn't close out the match. The series was followed by a triangular series involving India, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. South Africa won all the round robin matches. India qualified to the final only on the basis of NRR and lost in the final despite Dravid's heroics.

The Highs and Lows

Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin had a brilliant partnership in Cape Town to show Indians can bat under these conditions. Rahul Dravid's magnificent century in first innings and a half-century in the second innings led India to the brink of victory in the 3rd test. Adam Bacher's unbelievable catch to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar.

India's loss and tie to Zimbabwe and their struggle to reach the tri-series final was a low point. India bundled out for a total of 166 across both innings in the first Test was another nadir.