Ind vs SA in Tests: Rohit Sharma’s men must navigate fine margins to conquer final frontier

Thirty-one years have passed since Jimmy Cook edged Kapil Dev’s outswinger to Sachin Tendulkar at slip and reluctantly walked back to the dressing room at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban.

It was no ordinary ball. It was history.

That was the first ball in international cricket in South Africa since 1970; there had been an ICC ban on the country because of its apartheid policy. Cook believed the ball hadn’t carried, but the square-leg umpire thought otherwise and advised his colleague accordingly (ironically, this was the first match in which television replays were being used, though only for line calls).

More drama followed in India’s first-ever Test against South Africa, which ended in a draw after the rain washed away an entire day’s play. Pravin Amre made an excellent hundred on debut after coming in at 38 for four. The host, however, went on to win the four-match series 1-0, riding on the nine-wicket victory in the third Test at Gqeberha.

Three decades later, India’s quest for a series victory in South Africa continues. It remains the only major Test-playing nation where India has yet to win a Test series.

Rohit Sharma’s men have an excellent opportunity to set that record straight. The two-match series begins on December 26 in Centurion. The second Test will be played in Cape Town from January 3.

Back in 2006-07, under Rahul Dravid, now on his second tour of the country as coach, India got off to a perfect start in a three-match series, winning the first Test in Johannesburg by 123 runs, thanks largely to a superb show from seamer S. Sreesanth (five for 40 and three for 59). It, however, lost both the remaining Tests of the series.

Much-awaited return: Jasprit Bumrah last played a Test in Birmingham in July 2022.
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PTI

History repeated itself 15 years later, when Dravid went to South Africa as the coach for the first time. In the 2021-22 series, held without spectators due to COVID-19 concerns, the visiting team won the initial Test in Centurion — its first-ever at the venue — by 113 runs. However, it faced defeats in the subsequent two matches in Johannesburg and Cape Town, both by a margin of seven wickets each.

Two years later, both teams have different captains. The Cape Town Test was the last for Virat Kohli as the Indian skipper. He stepped down a day after the match. Temba Bavuma took over from Dean Elgar, whose obduracy at the top played an important role in South Africa’s series victory last time.

The Proteas will rely on the experience and skills of those two batters, just as Kohli’s class and intensity will be crucial to India’s fortunes. In the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the Test specialists who played in the 2021-22 series, the former captain’s role in the batting line-up assumes even more significance. Kohli is the only Indian batter to average more than 50 (after playing at least 10 innings) in Tests in South Africa. He has also scored two hundreds; only Sachin Tendulkar has more (five).

The Indian think tank wouldn’t mind Kohli adding to his tally of hundreds. Neither would it mind some handsome contributions from skipper Rohit. He may have gone past 40 only once in his eight previous Test innings in South Africa, but he has arrived in the Rainbow Nation after making 103, 80, and 57 in his last three innings in the longest format in the West Indies. The numbers from his last Test series against South Africa — in India, four years ago — are even more impressive, with scores such as 176, 127, and 212.

He also has his brilliant form from the recent ODI World Cup to lean on. Even in not the most ideal conditions for batting, as in the final against Australia in Ahmedabad, he played with a freedom and confidence that very few others have shown. Batting on the lively tracks of South Africa against a battery of quality quick bowlers may be tougher, but he is arguably the best puller in the game since Ricky Ponting.

If Rohit gets going, so could India. After missing the 2021-22 series because of a hamstring injury, he will be keen to make use of this opportunity. K.L. Rahul had opened in that series and made a brilliant century in the first Test. Former South African opener Alviro Petersen called it the finest from a sub-continental opener in South African conditions. The Karnataka batter-wicketkeeper is likely to feature in the middle order this time. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a hundred on his Test debut in the West Indies, is expected to open.

The young left-hander will find the conditions much more challenging than most places, as will the likes of Shubman Gill, the likely No. 3, and Shreyas Iyer. One batter India will miss greatly is the counter-attacking Rishabh Pant, still recuperating from last year’s car accident.

His stunning knock had set up India’s greatest Test win — against Australia at the Gabba in 2020–21 — and he had made a glorious hundred that helped India build its lead in the final Test against South Africa on the last tour.

Mohammed Shami’s late withdrawal — he hasn’t recovered from his ankle injury — is a big blow. In the ODI series against Australia and then in the World Cup, after being overlooked early on, he was a raging tempest. Imagine how effective he would have been in the far more helpful conditions of South Africa, where he was India’s leading wicket-taker in 2021–22; he took eight in the Test win.

Key player: Keegan Petersen played a key role in South Africa’s last Test series win over India, making scores of 62, 72, and 82 in four innings as it came from behind to take the series 2-1. 
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However, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj could ensure the South African batters do not breathe easy. Prasidh Krishna may come in place of Shami; the Karnataka quick did not harm his chances with a five-wicket haul in the first unofficial Test between South Africa-A and India-A in Potchefstroom, and Shardul Thakur’s best Test innings figures (seven for 61) came on the previous tour. Spin hasn’t traditionally been as effective in South Africa as pace, but India has two of the world’s best tweakers, R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Meanwhile, the home team is grappling with injuries, with Anrich Nortje already ruled out. Additionally, there are concerns about key players Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, as per reports from South Africa. So the host might have to depend more on the young pace duo of Gerald Coetzee — a genuine quick and great prospect for the future — and Marco Jansen, the tall left-armer who has made rapid strides since making his debut against India a couple of years ago.

South Africa will want the classy batter Keegan Petersen to continue from where he left off against India; he was the Player of the Series. Besides Elgar and Bavuma, there is also the elegant Aiden Markram.

It should be a good contest between two well-matched sides on wickets that tend to produce absorbing cricket. Rohit’s men will approach it believing they could conquer the final frontier this time.