South Africa v India, Test series: Head to Head stats

Team India is all set to take on South Africa in a 3-match Test series on the South African soil. Interestingly, this will be India’s seventh visit to the rainbow nation for a Test series. In their previous six visits, they have failed to register a single series win. South Africa has won five out of those six series played in South Africa and one series had ended in a draw.

Considering the head to head stats of the Tests between the two nations, the Indian team has been matching up in the recent times. In the 33 Tests played, India had won 10 and South Africa has been victorious in 13 matches. 10 matches have ended with a drawn result. The staggering stat that stands out in this is that the Asian side has only won 2 Tests on the South Africa soil in their previous 17 attempts.

Here is the India-South Africa Tests overall series summary:

Head-to-head clashes:

A very interesting observation to be made here is the way the Indian side had improved against the strong Proteas outfit over the past few years. During the 1992-2001 phase, South Africa dominated the proceedings with 7 wins in 14 matches as against India’s 2 wins. South Africa’s comeback game after the Apartheid ban was against team India. During the 2002-2011 phase, the Indian side managed to win 5 manages – a number equivalent to the number of South Africa wins. It was during this phase that the Sourav Ganguly-led side had drawn a Test series in South Africa.

India-South Africa Tests – Series by Period

India-South Africa Tests – Results by Period

The first time the two teams had met in South Africa was in the 1992/93 season. It was a four match series which the hosts had won 1-0. In the 1996-97 season, team India hosted the Proteas for a 3-match series. In that series, the Indian side had trounced the opposition 2-1. The most recent bilateral fixture between the two sides in the longest format was in the year 2015. India had won the four match series 3-0. During India’s previous visit to South Africa, in 2013-14, the Proteas had won the 2-match series 1-0.

India-South Africa Tests – Summary of the tours

Now, coming to the team records, the highest total aggregated by the Indian side in India-South Africa Tests is 643/8 registered at Kolkata in February. Former Indian captain MS Dhoni had scored a double century in the match. For South Africa, the highest total against the Indians has been 620/4 at Centurion in 2010.

Highest team totals in India-South Africa Tests:

Meanwhile, the lowest totals for the Indian side against the opposition has been 66 in the fourth innings of the Durban Test in 1996. For South Africa, their lowest total against India was 79 at Nagpur in 2015. They were left absolutely clueless against Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on the rank turner. The pitch had come under the scanner after the match.

Lowest team totals in India-South Africa Tests:

Coming to the individual records, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar holds the distinction for scoring most number of runs in India-South Africa Tests. He has 1741 runs in 25 matches to his name against the Proteas. For the South Africans, Jacques Kallis tops the list with 1734 runs in 18 matches. He averaged 69.36 against India. Among the current lot, AB de Villiers has 1123 runs in 17 matches to his name against the Indian team.

Leading run-getters in India-South Africa Tests:

Among the bowlers, Anil Kumble tops the charts with as many as 84 wickets to his name in 21 fixtures. Dale Steyn, who is currently in the South African squad, is the leading wicket-taker for South Africa against India in Tests with 63 scalps to his name in just 13 matches.

Leading wicket-takers in India-South Africa Tests:

These Cricket Stats updated on 4th January, 2018