Stats: South Africa register lowest ever Test score against India

Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the fall of yet another South African wicket

As was expected, India have blown away the South African batting line-up for under 100 in the 3rd Test of the Gandhi-Mandela Series in Nagpur today. The paltry 79 that the Proteas managed to muster in their 1st innings happens to be their lowest ever Test score against India, beating the previous lowest of 84 that they got in Johannesburg in 2006.

The Indian spin duo of Ravinchandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been the wreckers-in-chief as they claimed 9 out of the 10 wickets that fell during South Africa’s innings with the only other wicket also going to the third spinner, Amit Mishra. In Johannesburg though, it was the Indian pacers who did most of the damage with S Sreesanth leading the way.

This is also the lowest-ever total recorded by any team against India in Tests, beating the previous record held by Sri Lanka, who were bowled out for 82. The following table shows the lowest scores in Tests against India:

Score	Team	Year
79	South Africa	2015
82	Sri Lanka	1990
83	Australia	1981
84	South Africa	2006
91	Bangladesh	2000
93	Australia	2004
94	New Zealand	2002
100	New Zealand	1981
101	New Zealand	1968
101	England	1971

This is also only the 2nd time in India-South Africa Tests when Team India have dismissed their opponents for a score below 100. It is also the 4th instance when either of the teams failed to register even 100 on the board in a Test innings against each other.

The following table shows the lowest scores recorded by South Africa against India in Tests:

Score	Venue	Year
79	Nagpur	2015
84	Johannesburg	2006
105	Ahmedabad	1996
109	Mohali	2015
121	Kanpur	2008
131	Durban	2010
176	Mumbai	2000
177	Kanpur	1996
180	Kanpur	1996
184	Mohali	2015

South Africa’s 79 is 12th on the list of their lowest totals ever since they started playing Test cricket. Their most dismal performance with the bat came in the year 1896, when they scored just 30 in an innings against England; the second lowest score ever in Tests. 28 years later, they produced a repeat performance against the same opposition as they were shot out for 30 yet again.

The Proteas hold the dubious distinction of being bowled out in the 30s on 4 occasions, the most by any team in Tests. Apart from this, they have been thrice in the 40s, 4 times in the 70s, 7 times in the 80s and 11 times in the 90s.

The England bowling attack has enjoyed the best time against the South African batting line-up. There have been 30 instances on which South Africa lost all 10 wickets for a score under 100, 18 of which have come against England, albeit mostly before the 1960s.

These are the 10 lowest totals of all time registered by the Proteas:

Score	Against	Year
30	England	1896
30	England	1924
35	England	1899
36	Australia	1932
43	England	1889
45	Australia	1932
47	England	1889
58	England	1912
72	England	1957
72	England	1956

With the pitch at Nagpur behaving the way it is and the Indian spinners running amock, it may not be a surprise if India bowl out South Africa for under 50 in their 2nd innings and add to their list of poor performances with the bat.