South Africa played their first Test on their return to the
international fold against the West Indies at Bridgetown. But the first
visitors to South Africa after the ban was lifted were the Indian team,
who incidentally also were the first non-white side to officially tour
the country. Predictably enough, the tour was always seen in a wider
context. The visit had the active support of the African National
Congress and was almost entirely free from political rancour. Much of
the profits made by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA)
went into their development programme for black cricketers while the
Indian players undertook a heavy schedule of duties off the field in
townships and elsewhere and proved to be fine ambassadors.
This Test was also notable for the first decision given by the third
(TV) umpire. Tendulkar was the batsmen adjudged run out by Karl
Liebenberg after Cyril Mitchley gave the now all too familiar signal to
him from the field. Indeed the tour itself has its place in history for
another reason - it saw the introduction of ICC's scheme for independent
umpires with West Indian Steve Bucknor being the neutral official.
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On the field, unfortunately, the Indians did not perform as well as
expected. They came to South Africa from Zimbabwe where they had played
in that country's inaugural Test. Zimbabwe had the better of the drawn
game and even though India won the only ODI against Zimbabwe, they
quickly became aware that it was not going to be an easy tour as
conditions in South Africa were not very different from those prevailing
in Zimbabwe. Moreover, the South Africans were a much stronger unit.
The worst fears were confirmed for not only was the four Test series
lost 0-1, but the tourists also went down 2-5 in the ODIs. While the
Indians could, more or less, match the home side in batting, they fell
behind in the departments of fast bowling and fielding. The home side's
bowling, spearheaded by Allan Donald and their fielding, led by Jonty
Rhodes was, in the ultimate analysis, the vital difference.
Durban, with its huge Indian community, was fittingly the venue for the
first Test between the two countries. There was a keen battle for the
first innings in a slow scoring game but with rain washing out the
fourth day's play, the match petered out into a tame draw. The captain,
Kepler Wessels top scored with 118 as South Africa scored 254. India at
one stage were 38 for four, but a courageous 103 by Pravin Amre playing
his first Test saw them get 277. Amre and Kiran More (55) added 101 runs
for the eighth wicket. South Africa, after the fourth day wash out, used
the final day for batting practice.
This Test was also notable for the first decision given by the third
(TV) umpire. Tendulkar was the batsmen adjudged run out by Karl
Liebenberg after Cyril Mitchley gave the now all too familiar signal to
him from the field. Indeed the tour itself has its place in history for
another reason - it saw the introduction of ICC's scheme for independent
umpires with West Indian Steve Bucknor being the neutral official.
The second Test at Johannesburg was again marked by a keen duel for
supremacy over the first four days but the match again ended in a tame
draw with the Indians showing no inclination towards chasing a tough
target.
Rhodes (91) and Brian McMillan (98) rescued South Africa from a poor
start (26 for four) and the home team ultimately totaled 292. Sachin
Tendulkar's 111 helped India reply with 227. In the course of his knock,
Tendulkar became, at 19 years, 217 days, the youngest player to reach
1000 runs in Test cricket, displacing Kapil Dev (21 years, 27 days, in
1979-80). Even as South Africa attempted to consolidate on the fourth
day, the batsmen were held in check by a lengthy spell by Anil Kumble,
who finished with six for 53 off 44 overs. A total of 252 stretched
their overall lead to 317 but the Indians made no attempt to reach the
target. With South Africa too never really in the hunt, the match had a
dull finish. The Test had a total attendance of 80,000, among them the
president of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela.
By the time of the third Test at Port Elizabeth, the South Africans had
wrapped up the one day series comfortably and were confidence
personified. This was reflected in the final result - a victory by nine
wickets. Not unexpectedly, Donald was the architect, with a bag of 12
for 139. He took five for 55 in the first innings, restricting India to
212. Azharuddin top scored with 60.
With Hansie Cronje playing the sheet anchor role to perfection, South
Africa established a first innings lead of 63. Coming in when the first
wicket fell without a run on the board, Cronje was last out for 135,
after batting for eight and three quarter hours and facing 411 balls.
Donald proved to be lethal the second time around. He reduced India to
31 for six on the third evening and it took a great knock by Kapil Dev
to turn the innings around. The Indian all rounder hit 129 to help the
Indians to get to 215 but the final honours still lay with Donald who
had seven for 84. South Africa, led by Wessels' unbeaten 95 made light
of the modest target of 153 and victory was achieved with more than a
day to spare.
The final Test at Cape Town was marked by negative cricket by both sides
and there was never really any possibility of a result. The approach by
the teams is best exemplified by the fact that they averaged 1.83 runs
an over. South Africa, intent on clinching the series, dawdled along
before declaring at 360 for nine late on the second day. India, needing
to win to level the series, batted even more slowly before they were all
out for 276 on the fourth evening. The rest of the match was a formality
and a series which promised much, came to an unsatisfactory conclusion.