South Africa vs India 2018: Top 5 Tests between South Africa and India

#2 South Africa vs India, Johannesburg 2006

Sreesanth's 5/40 helped bundle the Proteas for 84 in the first innings of the 2006 Johannesburg Test

India’s maiden Test win in South Africa came on the back of a stupendous performance from an unlikely bowler. Sreesanth, still new into the Indian side, fashioned a memorable win by grabbing 5/40 in the first innings, a haul which helped bowl the hosts out for merely 84, and included the wickets of Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis cheaply. Anil Kumble, on his part, got two wickets in two overs including that of top-scorer Ashwell Prince.

But before that happened, India had managed to put up only a modest total of 249 which included multiple starts, but not a single sufficient score. Comeback man Sourav Ganguly got 51* and needed support from number eleven VRV Singh, who hit 29, to lend the Indian total some respectability. Shaun Pollock took 4/39 to restrict India. With a massive lead of 165 in the pocket, India stepped out to consolidate on that position, but were soon reduced to 61/4 with Pollock and Andre Nel picking up two each.

But VVS Laxman, India’s crisis man of the second innings, stood firm to build two important partnerships: first of 58 with Ganguly and then of 70 for the eighth wicket with Zaheer Khan. Laxman fell for 73 with the hosts needing 402 to win.

In a nervous run chase, Sreesanth again dismissed all three of Smith, Amla and Kallis, as only Prince fought with a valiant 97, the ninth man to be dismissed. Kumble kept himself in the game with two more wickets, helping India to a win by 123 runs, their first against South Africa in their own den.

India 249 (Ganguly 51*, Tendulkar 44; Pollock 4/39) and 236 (Laxman 73, Zaheer 37; Pollock 3/33) beat South Africa 84 (Prince 24; Sreesanth 5/40, Kumble 2/2) and 278 (Prince 97, Pollock 40; Kumble 3/54) by 123 runs