IND vs SA: With India taking on South Africa for a three-match bilateral affair in the longest format of the sport before the shorter and the more raucous formats begin, fans have been pretty impressed with the way how Rahul has played in the land of the lions on the opening day of the Centurion Test.
Rahul however, was not the first one to impress in the land of lions with India wringing out pretty decent results with the band of their fabulous four who ruled the roost in the early days of the 21st century. In this story, we will take a quick look at the top five performances by Indian batsmen in the land of the lions.
Sachin Tendulkar – 169 at Cape Town
Needless to say, but the Little Master has dominated every single country that he has stepped foot in. Not always would you find someone who is considered to be the only one to at least invoke comparison with the legendary Don himself, and when you do, it has to be Sachin Tendulkar. It was way back in 1997 when where India suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the hosts but the Little Master played a rampant knock that made others believe in the brutal capability of slaying bowlers, no matter the surface. Responding to a monumental total in the first innings, India lost the cream of their batting, courtesy of Klusener and Donald. It was Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin who helped India to avert a follow on and rack themselves a respectable total in front of the colossus laid ahead of them. Sachin fired an incredible 169 that starred 26 fours.
Sachin Tendulkar – 155 at Bloemfontein
Once again, Sachin’s valiant battle couldn’t help India to win the contest as they were outplayed in all departments. Batting first, India managed to pile up 379 in the first innings. After an initial shocker, Sachin and Sehwag combined brilliantly to set things right for India. From 4 for 68, the duo managed to stretch India to an overwhelming 288 without any further loss of wickets. Sachin led the charge with a few exquisite strokes while a young Sehwag learned and delivered. The Little Master finally came undone to the brutal pace of Ntini but by the time the blow was dealt, he had already managed to 155 runs from 184 balls as the figures seemed more like an ODI than Test cricket. He smacked 23 fours and a six to tame the menacing South African bowling.
Cheteshwar Pujara – 153 at Johannesburg
Despite Pujara being a shadow of his former self currently that saw him getting unravelled by the pace of Ngidi yesterday, he was once upon a time the rock of Indian Test batting. India managed a fortunate escape as South Africa fell short of the stipulated target by 7 runs on the final day. It was in the second innings of the game that Pujara joined forces with Virat Kohli to stitch together a mind-bending partnership. From the 270 balls that Pujara played, he hammered a staggering 21 fours. South Africa did manage to come menacingly close to the total posted by the Indians but Mohammed Shami’s three-fer reeled them back in.
Virat Kohli – 153 at Centurion
It was in India’s last outing in South Africa that saw the Indian batters struggling vehemently against the mighty South Africans. Virat Kohli stood out with his heroics and blasted a rambunctious 153 at Centurion. This innings was of symbolic importance to Kohli, considering the minimal support that he has received from the other end. He played fearlessly, totally undaunted by the African pace attack and from the 217 balls that he played, he racked up 153 runs that featured an incredible 15 fours and a breezy strike rate of 70.50.
Rahul Dravid – 148 at Johannesburg
This time it was a lucky escape for the South Africans as India failed to bowl them out on the last day of the contest despite coming very close to the holy grail. Batting first, India piled up a monumental 410 in the opening innings. Rahul Dravid spearheaded the Indian batting with instrumental support from Sourav Ganguly. Dravid carried on with his resistance till the very end as he was blessed with a couple of decent stands at the other end from Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath. Rahul Dravid played a staggering 362 deliveries and belted out 148 runs that saw him rack up 21 fours. India needed two more wickets to win the contest but South Africa saw off the remaining day with dogged defiance.
