India vs South Africa Test history: 5 Men who've achieved a 10 wicket-haul in the iconic fixture

With the introduction of the ICC Test Championship, the zeal surrounding the longer format of the game has reached an all-new level. The recently-concluded Ashes series gave the cricket enthusiasts a lot to cheer about as England and Australia battled in one of the most pulsating Test series of all-time. The next mega-series in line is India versus South Africa and it won't be a far-fetched thought to say that the series will play a key role in the Test Championship rankings.

With the Test series just around the corner, avid fans of the game must have been pondering over the stats game between the two sides. When going over the Test stats between the two supreme cricketing nations, one interesting stat to study is the number of 10-wicket hauls, simply because only a handful of men have ever claimed 10 wickets in a match.

Taking 10-wickets in a match is no easy task simply because it demands sheer focus, grit and consistency to be able to bowl at the highest level across a 5-day Test match. Talking about India against South Africa in Test cricket, only 5 men have ever achieved a 10-wicket haul in this iconic fixture and here we list them down:

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#1 Allan Donald at Port Elizabeth, 1992- 12/139(5/55 & 7/84)

Allan Donald in action

In 1992, India under the leadership of Kapil Dev travelled to South Africa for a 4-match Test series. The Indian side did put a valiant effort in South Africa but were denied the victory as the series concluded 1-0 in favour of the Proteas. The fact that three matches ended in a draw underlines how evenly matched the sides were, but one man turned out to be in the difference in the remaining one fixture and that man was Allan Donald.

The legendary South African pacer ripped apart the Indian batting order at Port Elizabeth as he captured a total of 12 wickets in the match. His performance in the first innings was instrumental in restricting India for just 212 runs. But the visitors, with determination and ambition, came back stronger and dismissed South Africa for 275 to give themselves a chance in the match.

Ardent fans of South African cricket had all their hopes on Donald to replicate his first innings form and the prolific pacer didn't disappoint as he removed seven batsmen, as India wrapped up their innings for 215 runs. The Proteas went on to win the match and the series.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

#2 Venkatesh Prasad at Durban, 1996- 10/153(5/60 & 5/93)

Venkatesh Prasad

The tall wiry pacer from Karnataka played 33 Test matches for India in which he scalped 96 wickets. His fiery spells helped India on foreign pitches, where Venkatesh Prasad was found to be more effective than the Indian pitches.

Durban's Kingsmead Ground has always been favourable for the seamers and such was the scenario in Prasad's case, who delivered his career-best performance at Durban's famous stadium in 1996 by achieving a 10-wicket haul against South Africa. Prasad's 10/153 turned out to be the only positive for India from the match as they were thrashed by the home side by a humongous margin of 328 runs.

It was in 1996 when Sachin Tendulkar led India's tour of South Africa for a 3-match Test series. The visitors were subjected to a humiliating defeat in the very first fixture in Durban. South Africa went on to win the series to series 2-0.

#3 Shaun Pollock at Bloemfontein, 2001- 10/147(4/91 & 6/56)

Second Test South Africa v India - Day 2

With 421 Test wickets to his name, Shaun Pollock is the second-highest wicket-taker of all-time for the Proteas. His spells with the new ball horrified batsmen to a great extent and were an utter delight to watch for the spectators. As mentioned earlier, Pollock scalped 421 wickets in 108 Tests for the Proteas of which 52 came against India.

Pollock's tally of 52 wickets from 12 Test matches against India truly signifies his world-class bowling attributes as he ranks among the most successful bowlers to ever play in the fixture. His best performance against India came in 2001 when he claimed 10-wickets in a match for the very first time in his career. The match saw a young Virender Sehwag score a 100 on debut against Pollock and company.

Viru may have had a dream start to his Test career but it was Pollock who ruled the charts and stole the show as he helped South Africa reign supreme by 9 wickets.

#4 Dale Steyn at Nagpur in 2010- 10/108(7/51 & 3/53)

Second Test - South Africa v India: Day Two

Dale Steyn has a remarkable record against India in the longer format of the game. The South African speedster has scalped 65 wickets against India in 14 matches, the most by any South African against the subcontinent giants.

Steyn’s best performance against India came in 2010 when he stormed past the Indian batting unit to claim a 10-wicket haul at Nagpur. The Proteas outplayed their opponents and it was Steyn who caused a lot of damage to the Indian batsmen with the moving red ball.

The Indian contingent oozed greatness as some of the finest players of all-time took the centre stage for the home side. Steyn ran riot with the ball as he tore apart India's middle and lower order to help the Proteas dismiss India for a lowly total of 233 in response to South Africa's 558/6d as a result to which Graeme Smith enforced the follow-on.

India went on to lose the match by an innings and 6 runs as Dale Steyn's brilliance with the new ball helped him enter an illustrious list of men to have achieved a 10-wicket haul against India in Test cricket.

#5 Ravichandran Ashwin at Nagpur, 2015- 12/98(5/32 & 7/66)

R Ashwin

Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Stadium has witnessed some brilliant performances over the years and Ravichandran Ashwin's masterclass from 2015 rightly falls in the aforementioned bracket as he exhibited one of the most dominating bowling performances of all-time against South Africa.

The Proteas were rattled for a paltry total of 79 runs in reply to India's first innings total of 213. South Africa lasted just 33.1 overs as Ashwin's trickery with the ball brought India back into the match. The pitch was spinning all over as batsmen from either camp were struggling to score runs but it was R Ashwin specifically who was able to exploit the pitch conditions the most.

Chasing a target of 309, the visitors were set for a tricky task, but they did not know what carnage Ashwin was going to cause on the spinning surface. The Indian spinner scalped 7 wickets to help India defeat South Africa by 124 runs.

Ashwin was deservingly named as the Man of the Match for his commendable efforts with the ball.