Top 5 India-South Africa ODI encounters

Almost every ODI series between India and South Africa is a keenly contested one. Ever since the latter’s readmission, both teams have managed to win 5 ODI series each and have drawn 1 (out of the 11 that they have played).

However, India have never won an ODI series in the Rainbow Nation. Their best result came in 2010/11 when MS Dhoni-led Indian side lost 2-3. However, with No. 1 (South Africa) and No. 2 (India) facing off against each other in a 6-match series, we can expect a few close games.

Thus, as the ODI series nears, let’s take a look back at the top 5 ODI games these two teams have played against each other.

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#5 Colombo, 2002 Champions Trophy (Semi-final)

After facing off in the semi-final of the Knockout Trophy (which was renamed as Champions Trophy) in 2000, South Africa and India faced off against each other once again in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy.

In a pressure game (in Colombo), Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first. Virender Sehwag (58) helped India get off to a flier as India reached 100 in the 16th over. However, wickets at regular intervals pecked them back as the Proteas bowlers started to take control of the game. Yuvraj Singh’s 62 and Rahul Dravid’s 49 helped the Men in Blue reach a competitive total of 261.

Chasing 262, South Africa lost Graeme Smith early. But Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis forged a superb 178-run stand for the second wicket. Gibbs who had scored 116 (his second successive ton in the tournament) suffered from severe cramps and was forced off the field in the 37th over of the chase. The Proteas needed just 70 more at that stage to book their place in the final.

However, Gibbs’s departure helped India tighten the screws as they dried out the runs and kept picking wickets at regular intervals. South Africa, though, had their hopes pinned on Kallis who was batting very well. But even he couldn’t take his team over the line as India’s spinners bowled them to a famous win.

Sehwag and Harbhajan combined to pick 5 wickets and Yuvraj’s brilliance in the field also made a difference as India booked their place in the final.

Brief Scores: India 261/9 (Sehwag 58, Yuvraj 62, Pollock 3/43, Donald 2/41) beat South Africa 251/6 (Gibbs 116 – retired hurt, Kallis 97, Sehwag 3/25, Harbhajan 2/37)

#4 Kanpur, 2015

Rabada who made his debut only a couple of months earlier held his nerve in the final over against Dhoni

After winning the 3-match T20I series 2-0, South Africa entered the ODI series full of confidence. In a day game, they batted first after winning the toss and were off to a decent start.

They had partnerships of 45, 59 and 48 for the first three wickets. But a brilliant 73-ball 104 from skipper AB de Villiers propelled the Proteas to 303 at the end of 50 overs. They scored over a 100 runs in the last 10 overs as India’s death bowling was under the scanner again.

Chasing a big score, Rohit Sharma responded brilliantly with a superb 150 as he took India close to the target. Rahane chipped in with a useful 60 coming at No. 3. However, when Rohit got out in the 47th over, India needed 35 runs in 23 balls and with MS Dhoni at the crease, India were still in the game.

But some magnificent death bowling from Steyn and Rabada helped the visitors defend 303 as the latter defended 11 runs in the last over and prized out MS Dhoni (31) as the Proteas registered a 5-run win.

Brief Scores: South Africa 303 for 5 (de Villiers 104*, du Plessis 62, Amit Mishra 2/47, Ashwin 1/14) beat India 298 for 7 (Rohit 150, Rahane 60, Rabada 2-58, Tahir 2-57)

#3 Jaipur, 2010

The Indian players celebrate after winning a nail-biting game

South Africa’s tour of India in 2010 is remembered for Sachin Tendulkar’s majestic 200 (first player to score a double ton in ODIs). However, the first game of that ODI series was a thriller.

South Africa won the toss and elected to field first. India got off to a bad start as Sachin Tendulkar was runout in the second over. However, Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik batted fluently as they took the attack to the South African pacers, but wickets at regular intervals kept the visitors in the game. Most of India’s batsmen got off to good starts but failed to build on as they could only manage 298 in their 50 overs even after reaching 200 in the 35th over.

In reply, South Africa got off to a solid start as Gibbs and Bosman stitched a 58-run opening stand. But some accurate bowling and good fielding helped India gain total control of the game as South Africa slipped to 180/7.

Kallis, though, didn’t give up as he scored a well-made 89 before being dismissed in the 43rd over. At stage (225/8), the game seemed dead and buried. However, Wayne Parnell (49) and Dale Steyn (35) kept South Africa alive as they brought the equation down to 10 runs off the final over.

Praveen Kumar bowled the final over and dismissed Steyn on the second ball of the over. He had conceded only 3 in the first 4 deliveries, but a three and a wide brought it down to 3 off the final delivery. On the last ball, Parnell edged the ball to third man and set off for the second to tie the game, but MS Dhoni kept his cool and broke the stumps (even after a poor throw from Sreesanth) to help India win the game by 1 run.

Brief Scores: India 298 for 9 (Raina 58, Sehwag 46, Karthik 44, Kallis 3-29) beat South Africa 297 (Kallis 89, Parnell 49, Steyn 35, Jadeja 2-29, Praveen Kumar 2/46)

#2 Nagpur, 2011 World Cup (Group Stage)

Tendulkar's 99th international ton (111) went in vain

With the 2011 World Cup staged in India (along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and it being Sachin Tendulkar’s final mega-event, India were favourites and the pressure was on them to deliver. After a thumping win in the opening game (against Bangladesh) and a nail-biting tie against England, India eased past Ireland and Netherlands. South Africa were going to be tough opponents.

And in that game (in Nagpur), India opted to bat first and were in total command. After a dominating opening partnership of 142 between Sehwag (73) and Sachin, Gambhir joined the master to consolidate India’s position. Sachin scored a majestic 111 (his 99th international ton) and Gambhir made 69. But once both of them were dismissed in the batting powerplay, India completely lost the plot and collapsed. From 267/1 (in the 40th over), they were all-out for 296. Dale Steyn took 5/50 and helped the Proteas claw their way back in the game.

Even after storming back in the game, chasing 297 was going to be a tough ask. But South Africa’s top 4 kept up the required run-rate and batted well to help them reach 200 in the 38th over and they looked on course to chase the total down. Harbhajan Singh, though, brought India back in the game as he dismissed AB de Villiers (52) and Duminy (23) in consecutive overs.

The equation was 50 runs off 6 overs which was reduced to 17 off 2 overs. At that point, Zaheer Khan bowled a wonderful over and gave away only 4 runs in the penultimate over. Ashish Nehra bowled the final over with 13 runs in the bank. Robin Peterson smashed 2 fours and a six to seal the game for South Africa and helped them maintain their unbeaten World Cup record against India.

Brief Scores: India 296 all out (Tendulkar 111, Sehwag 73, Gambhir 69, Steyn 5-50) lost to South Africa 300 for 7 (Kallis 69, Amla 61, de Villiers 52, Harbhajan 3/53)

#1 Johannesburg, 2011

Parnell was distraught as Munaf Patel took the last two wickets to help India win the game

After a hard-fought Test series which ended in a draw (1-1), India won the only T20I but lost the first ODI comprehensively. With the World Cup in about 45 days, it was the final chance for both teams to get their combinations right. South Africa were 1-0 up as the teams moved to Johannesburg for the second ODI.

After opting to bat, India found themselves in trouble at 67/3. But Yuvraj Singh (53) and MS Dhoni (38) steadied the ship as they stitched an 83-run stand. But once their partnership was broken, the lower-middle order failed for the second consecutive time as they were bowled out for 190. Tsotsobe was the star for South Africa with the ball as he picked up a four-wicket haul.

Chasing a modest total of 191, South Africa looked on course for their second successive victory of the series when they reached 150 in the 32nd over (even though they had lost four wickets). But Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel brought India back in the game with 3 wickets in as many overs to reduce the hosts to 163/7. But Parnell kept chipping away with some vital runs as India picked up Steyn at the other end.

With 3 runs to win and 2 wickets in hand, South Africa looked favourites once again. But Munaf Patel scalped out Morne Morkel. With No. 11 Tsotsobe on strike, Patel would’ve backed himself to get him out, but the left-arm pacer found a way to sneak a single to give the strike back to Parnell. On the final ball of the 43rd over, Patel bowled a length ball outside off stump which was cut away (in the air) by Parnell only to find Yuvraj’s safe hands. India completed a superb come-from-behind win to level the series 1-1.

Brief Scores: India 190 (Yuvraj 53, Dhoni 38, Tsotsobe 4-22, Morkel 2/32) beat South Africa 189 (Smith 77, Miller 27, Munaf 4-29, Zaheer 2/37)