6 Reasons why Indian fans love the South African team

Indian cricket fans for some reasons feel a strong connection with South Africa and after India they also love to back and cheer for the Proteas. But dig deeper, and one would know about the fire that burns in the heart of every Indian cricket fan when their team fails to deliver the desired results. Whenever India plays South Africa, fans come out in support of the Proteas too, in addition to their own team. They love watching batsmen like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy hit those big shots and their bowlers like Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are in good form. And of course, the likes of de Villiers and du Plessis diving all over the park and grabbing those breath-taking catches, is a sight to behold. When India made history at Nagpur on the fourth match of the series by defeating South Africa after 9 years undoubtedly they felt proud, but at the same time they felt bad for their second favourite team South Africa. Here are the 6 Reasons why Indian fans love the South African team: 1. AB de Villiers: (Photo Source: BCCI) The advent of the Indian Premier League helped Indian cricket fans know more about the ‘super-human’ and these brilliant abilities with the bat, which were earlier unheard of. He played many extraordinary knocks during his stint with Delhi Daredevils first, and then the Royal Challenges Bangalore. No wonder why the name doesn’t need an introduction for any Indian cricket fan. His style of batting inspires little kids to bat like him. Recently Rahul Dravid shared some moments of his sons trying to play like de Villiers. When AB hit a six at Wankhede, the men raised their arms and air-worshipped the South African batsman with pretended bows. When de Villiers’ flew another ball into the stands for another six, the crowd roared in appreciation – not for South African victory but for cricketing skill. They wanted India to win, but more importantly, they wanted to see good cricket. 2. Dale Steyn’s fiery spells: Dale Steyn. (Photo Source: BCCI) This cricketer is passionate about playing against India so it’s vice-versa of exchanging love. The Indian fans love him because of his brilliant bowling and the special spells he comes up with against the Indians. And he is another immensely popular player in the IPL who has had successful stints with southern teams like Royal Challengers Bengal and later Sunrisers Hyderabad. 3. Gary Kirsten: Gary Kirsten. (© Getty Images) Guru Gary of the Indian cricket team not only took the team to new highs but every player of that team still heaps praise for the guy. He was someone who loved to stay behind the curtains and let his boys steal the show and they did. During Gary Kirsten’s tenure the Indian team not only rose to number 1 status in Tests but also won the ICC World Cup 2011, which was one of the highest points in the history of their cricket. 4. World Cup 1999 semi-final: South Africa played Australia in the 1999 World Cup semi-final. Australia batted first making 213 with Michael Bevan’s 65 being the top score. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Man of the Tournament in the World Cup 1999, Lance Klusener completely changed the fortunes of South Africa in the tournament. The heart-wrenching semi-final against Australia witnessed one of Lance Klusener’s most brilliant performances while he fought like a wounded warrior and almost pushed his side through to the finals until that Allan Donald moment came. This sealed the fate of his side and ended his spectacular World Cup campaign. 5. World Cup 2015 heartbreak: (© Getty Images) During the World Cup 2015 Indian cricket fans were also supporting South Africa along with their team. Since most wanted to see a South Africa v India final. They were disappointed with India’s semi-final loss and chances are he/she will pinpoint that they were left shattered with South Africa’s as well. Indian fans were passionately rooting for South Africa in their World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand and were left heart-broken when the Proteas lost a thriller. 6. Jonty Rhodes and the South African fielding: Jonty Rhodes. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images) Indian fans still can remember the image of Jonty Rhodes diving in thin air and to run-out Inzamam-ul-Haq. The former cricketer has a huge fan-following in the sub-continent for the way he redefined fielding in world cricket. Over the years, many South African fielders have come close to emulating Rhodes’ on the field, like de Villiers and du Plessis, who have also defied gravity on many occasions and have taken some spectacular catches. He has been a part of the Mumbai Indian’s coaching staff for a while now. His fans haven’t forgotten the fielder who mesmerized the world with his physics-defying fielding and that sill evokes wide respect around the country. In honour of the country, he loves Jonty admits that India is his second home and even went on to name his newborn daughter “India”, the place where he has a big fan base. Written by Manami Shah Mondal

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6 Reasons why Indian fans love the South African team

Whenever India plays South Africa, fans come out in support of the Proteas too, in addition to their own team.

5. World Cup 2015 heartbreak:

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