SA vs IND: India's Test Record in South Africa

India has played 9 test series in South Africa so far and lost 7 of them. India registered a draw in 2011 under MS Dhoni's captaincy and Rohit Sharma's men repeated that in the 2024 series. The Men in Blues have won only five test matches in the country so far. The final leg of the SA vs IND 2023-24 saw the two teams take the field in the first Test match on December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Then, they faced at Cape Town for the second match which concluded India's South Africa tour. Let's look at India's Test Record in South Africa.

Also Read: SA vs IND: India's ODI Bilateral Series performances in South Africa

India's maiden tour of South Africa in 1992-93 ended in a 1-0 defeat. The Indian cricket team played a total of four Test matches on the tour. The series-opener and the second game ended in a tie. The hosts won the third Test by 9 wickets in Port Elizabeth before the fourth match also ended in a draw. Mohammad Aharuddin was India's captain in the series and he failed to deliver in their first test series in South Africa.

India suffered a 2-0 defeat in their second Test series against South Africa in 1996-97. Sachin Tendulkar-led side was destroyed in the series opener as they lost the game by 328 runs before losing the second game by a big margin of 282 runs. India managed to draw the third and final Test to avoid a clean sweep. But, it was nothing but a consolation draw.

This was Sourav Ganguly's first Test series in South Africa as the captain of India. The visitors got off to an abysmal start in the two-match test series. India lost the first Test in Bloemfontein by nine wickets but managed to get a draw in the next game to suffer a 1-0 defeat. It was South Africa's third consecutive test series victory over India in their home soil.

The 2001-02 Test Series is also remembered till date due some other incident too. Match referee Mike Denness, a former England captain, found six India players guilty of various offenses during the second test match of India's 2001 tour of South Africa, played at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. The severity of Denness's punishment of an unprecedented six players was viewed by the Indian media as motivated by racism, outraged the general public, and remains controversial to this day.

India registered their first-ever Test victory in South Africa when the visitors defeated the Proteas by 123 runs in the series-opener at Johannesburg under the wall, Rahul Dravid. It was a dominant performance from the Indian team. However, South Africa bounced back to win their next two games on the trot and take the series 2-1 giving India another heartbreak on South African soil.

India managed to draw a Test series in South Africa for the first time under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in 2011. India lost the first Test of the three-match series by an innings and 25 runs but won the second Test with an 87-run victory. The third and final game ended in a draw as the series ended 1-1.

India had the best chance at registering their first-ever Test series win in South Africa in 2013. The first Test of the two-match series had ended in a draw and India could have won the series if they won the next game. However, the hosts dominated the Men in Blues and won by ten wickets to win the series 1-0.

Virat Kohli's first-ever Test series as India's captain in South Africa ended in a 2-1 defeat. South Africa won the first two games comfortably by 72 runs and 135 runs respectively to clinch the series before India won the consolation third and final Test by 63 runs.

India won the first Test by 113 runs to win their first-ever Test match at Centurion Park. It was Quinton de Kock's final Test match after he announced his retirement from Test cricket. South Africa won the second Test by seven wickets to level the series. It was the first time South Africa had beaten India in a Test match at the Wanderers Stadium. The Proteas also won the third and final Test by seven wickets, to win the series 2–1. Virat Kohli announced that he had stepped down as India's captain in Test cricket after the test series loss.

South Africa destroyed the Indian batting line-up to claim victory by an inning and 32 runs in the first Test, securing the victory in just three days. Kl Rahul's fighting century helped India put up a total of 245. The Proteas' bowling attack dismissed India for 131 in their second innings after South Africa had earlier scored 408 courtesy of Dean Elgar's magnificent knock of 185. The Proteas took a 163-run first-innings lead. Virat Kohli fought alone in the second inning and scored 76 but it wasn't enough. Debutant Nandre Burger took four wickets, Marco Jansen three, and Kagiso Rabada two in the second innings.

The second test match was held at Newlands in Cape Town. This was the first test of 2024, which ended in just five sessions. South Africa batted first and were bowled out for the lowest total at home of 55 runs in 23.2 overs courtesy of Siraj's 6-wicket haul. India started well but later lost the last six wickets without a run. Only Virat Kohli (46 runs) put up some score to help India get a lead of 98 runs. India managed to score only 153 runs in 34.5 overs.

In reply, South Africa got all out for 176 runs in 36.5 overs as Bumrah scalped 6 wickets but Aiden Markram scored a fearless century and fought alone for his side. India had a target of 79 runs which they chased in 12 overs and won the match comfortably by 7 wickets. Overall this game was completed in 107 overs, making it the shortest test match in the history of cricket.