World Cup head to head: India vs South Africa
Coloured kits. White balls. Introduction of floodlights. ICC brought in wholesale changes to the fifth edition of the World Cup - which in a way was a much-needed transformation to ODI cricket. It was their first big event after their readmission to cricket. But South Africa punched above their weight in the tournament. India and South Africa locked horns in the final game of the round-robin format with the former entering the contest with nothing much at stake as they were already knocked out of the World Cup. So, in a dead-rubber game, the weather gods decided to intervene and the match was reduced to 30-overs a side. South Africa captain Kepler Wessels called it right at the toss and put India in to bat.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth's forgettable tournament came to an end when he was dismissed for a 5-ball duck by Allan Donald. But Sanjay Manjrekar, skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev made their presence felt by chipping in with useful knocks to pilot India to 180 for 6. In reply, South Africa made a mockery of the target and shut the door for the Indians very early. Andrew Hudson and Peter Kirsten struck a 128-run opening stand to set the base as the Proteas clinically chased the target with 5 balls to spare and ended the misery for India.
15th May 1999: Kallis shines bright; steers South Africa home
After seven years, India and South Africa met again in the World Cup at Brighton which saw the introduction of the super six format. On this occasion, Mohammed Azharuddin won the toss and opted to bat in pristine batting conditions. Sourav Ganguly dominated the South African bowling attack as he announced his arrival on the big stage by forging an alliance with Rahul Dravid. The duo put on a 130-run stand for the second wicket but Ganguly missed out on a well-deserved hundred falling just three short of the milestone. India eventually finished with a healthy total of 254 for five. The momentum 'the men in blue' took with them into the dressing room at the break was accentuated manifold with the ball in hand.
The Proteas lost both their openers very early in their pursuit of 255 giving India the advantage. With odds stacked heavily against South Africa, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher put their hands up to rescue the sinking ship. The former sullied India's plans and kept the chase on track with his sensible batting. India's bowlers kept pegging back their opposition but whenever they managed to find a breakthrough, South Africa's middle-order made vital contributions. Ironically, akin to Ganguly's dismissal, a rush of adrenaline saw Kallis running himself out in the nineties with his team needing 27 runs from 26 balls. South Africa's hopes were hinging on the experienced Jonty Rhodes and all-rounder Lance Klusener and they did deliver in some style, taking the Proteas home with 2.4 overs to spare.
12th March, 2011: South Africa's stunning comeback leaves India shell shocked
Despite getting the better of the Indians in two World Cups, it was India who started as the favourites in this contest because they hadn't lost a game yet in the 2011 edition and moreover, had their home crowd behind them. It was a group B clash and a fight for supremacy at the top. On a flat Jamta wicket in Nagpur, MS Dhoni, after winning the toss, chose to bat and brought in the third pacer in Munaf Patel, leaving out Piyush Chawla. While South Africa had a forced change in Johan Botha in place of Imran Tahir. So the stage was set for a cracker of a game and Sehwag being Sehwag continued his merry way of getting off the mark with a boundary.
Interestingly, Sehwag had hit a four in the very first ball of the innings in the first four games. It didn't end there. Sachin Tendulkar got into the act and both turned on the ignition to go on a rampage as India ransacked 87 runs in the first 10 overs. Proteas' best bowlers - Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel - were taken apart which left them with no answers. Just when South Africa were in a desperate search for a wicket, captain Graeme Smith threw the ball to Faf du Plessis - a move which worked wonders. Sehwag dragged one onto his stumps, departing for 73. It was just a short respite for Smith and Co. as Gautam Gambhir joined the party and showed intent from ball one. With Tendulkar going berserk at one end and deservingly reaching his 99th International century, Gambhir too completed his half-century and India were set for a massive total. But things didn't go as per their plan. South Africa made a roaring comeback in the final 10 overs, plucking wickets at regular intervals and also kept a lid on the scoring rate. From 267 for one, India were skittled out for 296. They lost 9 wickets for 29 runs, thanks to a middle-order implosion.
It was imperative for the Proteas to get off to a good start and Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, all smashed fifties - driving their team into the ascendancy before Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel pegged back South Africa. With 36 required in 4 overs, Faf du Plessis and Robin Peterson kept South Africa's hopes alive. The equation was down to 13 off the final over and Ashish Nehra was given the task to defend it. A fortuitous inside edge saw Peterson earning a boundary off the first ball and he followed it up by smoking a six over deep mid-wicket to take South Africa closer, and sealed it eventually by creaming a four through cover. This helped South Africa take a 3-0 lead over the Indians in the World Cup. It was also India's first loss of the 2011 tournament.
It was one of the most anticipated clashes of the World Cup. Two high profile teams battling it out at the MCG and evidently, it was a packed crowd. Batting first, India had lost Rohit Sharma for a blob, but Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli coasted along and added 127 runs for the second wicket. Once the latter was dismissed in the 25th over, South Africa made a desperate attempt to hijack the innings but Ajinkya Rahane joined Dhawan and both batsmen took a heavy toll on some mediocre bowling from the Proteas.
The southpaw blasted an entertaining hundred while Rahane bullied them to an attacking half-century, also providing the required nitro-boost in the last 10 overs along with skipper MS Dhoni, which took India to a competitive total of 307 for seven.
South Africa's chase never got going and once Faf du Plessis (55) and AB de Villiers (30) fell in quick succession, things went haywire and a collapse ensued as Proteas were bowled out for 177. India broke the jinx and claimed their first win over South Africa in the World Cup.
South Africa had lost their first two matches of the competition. For India, on the other hand, this was the first match of their campaign and the Rose Bowl at Southampton was the battleground. Coming on the back of two successive run-chase failures, the Proteas opted to bat on a greenish surface and got off to an inauspicious start.
Jasprit Bumrah got the ball to nip around and scalped both the South African openers inside six overs. Rassie van der Dussen and Faf du Plessis steadied the ship somewhat although the skipper looked scratchy at the crease. Yuzvendra Chahal, playing his first-ever World Cup match, not only broke the fifty partnership but also dismissed both the set batsmen in the same over. His spin-partner - Kuldeep Yadav - too joined the party as the South Africans slipped to 89 for five in the 23rd over. Just when a partnership started to build, Chahal came back and removed David Miller. He added one more to his tally to finish with figures of 4 for 51. Some handy lower-order runs from Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada ensured that their team batted out 50 overs and posted a respectable total - 227 for 9 - on the board.
Rabada breathed fire with the new ball. He should have bounced out Rohit Sharma on 1 but Faf fluffed the chance at second slip, which in hindsight turned out to be very costly. He beat the bat umpteen number of times, broke Shikhar Dhawan's bat before nipping out the left-handed opener. There weren't too many freebies on offer and India took 15 overs to reach their fifty. De Kock pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to remove Virat Kohli. Rohit remained calm and forged a couple of steady half-century partnerships with KL Rahul and MS Dhoni. In the process, Rohit recorded his slowest ODI ton off 127 balls albeit a responsible knock. While the Indian spinners accounted for five wickets, their counterparts couldn't pick a single wicket. Rohit remained unbeaten till the end to take his team home with 15 balls to spare. "This is by far his best ODI innings because of the kind of pressure the first game brings from a World Cup point of view," stated Kohli on Rohit's match-winning knock in the post-match press conference.
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