India vs South Africa: Top 5 Test centuries by Indians in South Africa

From Kapil Dev’s gutsy 129 in 1992 to Cheteshwar Pujara’s 153 in 2013, Indians have played a number of memorable Test knocks in South Africa till date. Unfortunately, none of them could result in an India win. CricTracker picks five of those top knocks. India’s seventh Test series in South Africa will begin on Friday, January 5, when Virat Kohli’s men will lock horns with the hosts led by Faf du Plessis at Newlands in Cape Town. India are yet to win a Test series in South Africa since they first toured that country in 1992 and have won just two out of 17 matches they have played. They have lost eight on the other hand while seven games have been drawn. However, although India have done poorly as a team in South Africa in the last 25 years, there had been some great individual centuries from the visitors and though they could not always turn their team’s fate around, they have remained memorable for their sheer quality. Here are five top tons by Indians in South Africa since the 1992 series which the visitors had lost 0-1. 1. Kapil Dev’s 129 – 3rd Test in Port Elizabeth, 1992 Kapil Dev batting for India. (Photo by David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images) It was the game in which the fierce Allan Donald had taken 12 wickets to make a mockery of the Indian batting and they lost the game by 9 wickets. But it was veteran Kapil Dev’s counter-attacking 129 that made this Test an eternal memory. India came out to bat in their second essay with a 63 runs deficit and at one stage, were reeling at 31 for six, making an incredible innings defeat look probable. But it was Dev, who retired in less than two years since that game, who took the fight to the opponents, an injured right hand notwithstanding. Dev’s 129 came in 180 balls and was studded with 14 fours and one six. The Indian tail wagged with him, taking the total to 215 which was though never enough and the visitors lost the game by 9 wickets. But if one talks of VVS Laxman’s 167 scored in Sydney in 1999-2000 as one of the best knocks by an Indian ending up on the losing side, Dev’s 129 will be no less significant. 2. Sachin Tendulkar’s 169 – 2nd Test in Cape Town, 1996-97 Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo by GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images) After the disastrous first Test in Durban where India were bundled out for 66 by the South African fast bowlers, Sachin Tendulkar’s side faced utter humiliation and it was the captain who decided to rise to the occasion in the next Test played in Cape Town after India faced yet another batting disaster. After South Africa put up a mammoth 529 for 7 declared, India were reduced to 58 for 5 and it was Tendulkar (169) and former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin (115) who went for the counter-attack. The duo added 222 runs for the sixth wicket, helping India avoid the follow-on. The Master Blaster’s knock featured 26 boundaries and it was only an incredible catch by Adam Bachar at the boundary which could stop him on that day. India though could not evade defeat, thanks to another batting collapse in the second innings, losing the game by 282 runs. Tendulkar’s 169 nevertheless remained a high point and it endures as the highest Test score by an Indian in South Africa till date. 3. Rahul Dravid’s 148 – 3rd Test in Johannesburg, 1996-97 Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Rahul Dravid, then 24, made a statement through his unbeaten 27 in the first Test in Durban where India were bundled out for 66 and handed a massive 328-run defeat in the game. That the man was technically sound and could give any opponent a tough time. It became further evident in the third game of the series at Johannesburg. India had already lost the series by then but Dravid’s determination was intact. Coming out at No. 3 when the score was 25, he penned an epic 148 off 362 balls (541 minutes) during which he hit 21 fours. He was the last man out when the team total was 410 and subsequently earned the nickname of “The Wall” for his impeccable defence. It was Dravid’s first century in Tests and had healed the agony of his fans who saw him falling just five short of a debut century the year before. India had come very close to winning that Test but for the weather and some gritty batting by Daryll Cullinan. 4. Cheteshwar Pujara’s 153 – 1st Test at Johannesburg, 2013-14 Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) Cheteshwar Pujara bettered Dravid’s score at the very ground in Johannesburg when he scored an impressive 153 off 270 balls (21 fours) in the second innings to put India in a commanding position. Virat Kohli had also scored 96 in the second essay following his 119 in the first, adding 222 runs for the third wicket. After a cautious start, Pujara gradually cut loose and his ecstasy was visible after he reached the three-figure mark, making an emphatic statement. India had set up a target of 458 for the hosts but their inadequate firepower could not wrap up the game as South Africa finished at 450 for the loss of 7 wickets, stopping just eight runs short of victory in the stipulated time. The game is called one of the “closest draws” and will be remembered for Pujara’s first overseas hundred, just like Dravid’s 148 in the same ground 16 seasons ago. It is also considered a special inning as it had come in the wake of the battering that India had witnessed in the One-Day International series preceding it. 5. Virender Sehwag’s 105 – 1st Test in Bloemfontein, 2001 Virender Sehwag of India celebrates century on his debut. (Photo by: Touchline Photo/ALLSPORT) Virender Sehwag became the second Indian to score a century in the debut Test in South Africa after Praveen Amre (in 1992) when he hit a composed 105 by his standards in the first Test of the 2001 series in Bloemfontein. The dashing right-handed batsman joined Sachin Tendulkar who hit a majestic 155 in that match after Sourav Ganguly’s Team India was reduced to 68 for 4 and added 220 runs for the fifth wicket. Sehwag hit 19 fours during his knock and had India in a good position at 351 when a beauty from Shaun Pollock castled him. India, however, proved to be the second-best team in the game as their bowlers failed to shake the hosts and were eventually hammered by 9 wickets.

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India vs South Africa: Top 5 Test centuries by Indians in South Africa

Here are five top tons by Indians in South Africa since the 1992 series which the visitors had lost 0-1.

5. Virender Sehwag’s 105 – 1st Test in Bloemfontein, 2001

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