Indian cricket team in South Africa in 1996–97

The Indian cricket team toured South Africa during the 1996–97 season, playing three Tests from 21 December 1996 to 30 January 1997. Prior to the series, India toured South Africa in the 1992–93 season, losing the Test series 0–1.[1] India was led by Sachin Tendulkar while South Africa was led by Hansie Cronje. The series was Tendulkar's first overseas Test tour as captain and third overall.[2] The tour began with a Test series (named Castle Lager Series for sponsorship reasons),[3] consisting of three matches. South Africa won the first two matches by a huge margin, thereby winning the series 2–0, while the final Test ended in a draw. At the end of the series, Brian McMillan of South Africa emerged as the top run-scorer with 296 runs, with an average of 98.66.[4] He was closely followed by fellow team member Daryl Cullinan with 291 runs and India's Rahul Dravid (277 runs).[4] Allan Donald and Javagal Srinath finished the series as top wicket-takers capturing 20 and 18 wickets respectively.[5] The former was named "man of the series".[6]

India in South Africa 1996-97
 
  South Africa India
Dates 21 December 1996 – 30 January 1997
Captains Hansie Cronje Sachin Tendulkar
Test series
Result South Africa won the 3-match series 2–0
Most runs Brian McMillan (296) Rahul Dravid (277)
Most wickets Allan Donald (20) Javagal Srinath (18)
Player of the series Allan Donald (SA)

The Test series was followed by a triangular One-Day tournament, which included Zimbabwe as the third team.[7] South Africa won all its round-robin matches, and played against India in the finals;[7] they defeated India by 17 runs to win the title.[8] Donald once again ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 18 wickets,[9] while Cronje was declared "man of the series".[8]

Squads
Tests ODIs
 South Africa[10]  India[11]  South Africa[12]  India

The South Africa squad announced for the first two Tests excluded regulars Jonty Rhodes, Fanie de Villiers and Pat Symcox. Rhodes was omitted owing to an injury and concerns over suitability of his form for Test cricket, Symcox over the use of two spinners on bouncy wickets; Paul Adams made the team, while de Villiers' exclusion went unexplained by the team management. Derek Crookes, Nicky Boje, John Commins, who were members of the team's tour of India earlier that season, were also excluded.[13] Shaun Pollock, who missed his made the squad upon recovering from a heel injury.[10] Jacques Kallis was also included alongside uncapped Transvaal player Adam Bacher.[13] Their ODI squad was announced on 20 January 1997. Rhodes was recalled to the side following good performances for Natal in the domestic circuit. After good performances in the Test series, Kallis was recalled.[14] After the squad was announced, Brian McMillan ruled out with an inflamed tendon in his left foot; Craig Matthews was named as his replacement.[15] Matthews injured his ankle during the second game and was replaced by Rudi Bryson.[12]

A 16-member India squad was announced for the Test series.[16] Sachin Tendulkar was retained as the captain; Sunil Dev was named manager for the tour. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Vinod Kambli were not considered for selection due to disciplinary reasons, while Ajay Jadeja, Sunil Joshi, Wasim Jaffer, Sanjay Manjrekar and Abey Kuruvilla were left out from the squad. Overall, four seam bowlers and two spinners made the squad.[17] However, the inclusion of three wicket-keepers including uncapped player Pankaj Dharmani attracted criticism.[18] Jadeja and Joshi were later brought in for the triangular ODI series, along with Robin Singh and Salil Ankola, who replaced Dharmani, David Johnson, Venkatapathy Raju and Woorkeri Raman of the Test side.[16][19]

Tour matches

Three-day: Eastern Province v Indians
21–23 December 1996
Scorecard
v
335/6d (101 overs)
Sourav Ganguly 97 (204)
Nantie Hayward 2/62 (23 overs)
322/4 (84.5 overs)
Kepler Wessels 103* (182)
Venkatesh Prasad 1/32 (15 overs)
130/2 (32 overs)
Vikram Rathour 64 (77)
Nantie Hayward 1/22 (7 overs)

55-over: Natal Invitation XI v Indians
30 December 1996
Scorecard
Natal Invitation XI
288/5 (55 overs)
v
 Indians
236/7 (55 overs)
Neil Johnson 80 (112)
Woorkeri Raman 2/28 (5 overs)
Rahul Dravid 64 (81)
Neil Johnson 2/25 (7 overs)
Natal Invitation XI won by 52 runs
Kingsmead, Durban
Umpires: Wilf Diedricks and Rudi Koertzen
  • Natal Invitation XI won the toss and elected to bat.

50-over: Griqualand West v Indians
9 January 1997
Scorecard
Griqualand West
205/7 (50 overs)
v
 Indians
206/3 (35 overs)
Willie Dry 72 (85)
David Johnson 3/26 (10 overs)
Sourav Ganguly 101 (85)
Martyn Gidley 2/15 (7 overs)
Indians won by 7 wickets
De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley
Umpires: Danzel Becker and Barry Lambson
Player of the match: Sourav Ganguly (Indians)[21]
  • Griqualand West won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Pieter Barnard (Griqualand West) and Rahul Dravid (Indians) passed 1,000 and 2,000 runs respectively in first-class cricket.[21]

Three-day: Free State v Indians
11–13 January 1997
Scorecard
v
320/7d (87.4 overs)
Boeta Dippenaar 96 (170)
David Johnson 5/78 (23.4 overs)
296/6d (97.4 overs)
Vikram Rathour 115 (203)
Bradley Player 2/37 (19 overs)
259/2d (60.3 overs)
Gerhardus Liebenberg 133[not
Sourav Ganguly 1/47 (10 overs)
185/6 (64 overs)
Vikram Rathour 50 (78)
Nicky Boje 3/60 (21 overs)
Match drawn
Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein
Umpires: Robert Brooks, Brian Jerling and Barry Lambson
  • Free State won the toss and elected to bat.
  • David Johnson (Indians) claimed his 100th wicket in first-class cricket.[22]

50-over: South Africa A v Indians
30 January 1997
Scorecard
South Africa A
251/6 (50 overs)
v
 Indians
94/5 (24.2 overs)
Louis Koen 105 (134)
Venkatesh Prasad 2/42 (10 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 37 (37)
Piet Botha 2/18 (6 overs)
No result
Jan Smuts Stadium, Pietermaritzburg
Umpires: Robert Brooks and Brian Jerling
  • South Africa A won the toss and elected to bat.
  • The match was abandoned due to rain.

Test matches

1st Test
26–28 December 1996
Scorecard
v
235 (86 overs)
Andrew Hudson 80 (191)
Venkatesh Prasad 5/60 (19 overs)
100 (39.1 overs)
Sourav Ganguly 16 (45)
Allan Donald 5/40 (16 overs)
259 (70 overs)
Adam Bacher 55 (101)
Venkatesh Prasad 5/93 (25 overs)
66 (34.1 overs)
Rahul Dravid 27 (73)
Allan Donald 4/14 (11.1 overs)
South Africa won by 328 runs
Kingsmead, Durban
Umpires: Steve Dunne (NZ) and Dave Orchard (SA)
Player of the match: Andrew Hudson (SA)
  • India won the toss and elected to field.
  • Adam Bacher (SA) made his Test debut.
  • India's second innings total of 66 was their lowest against South Africa in Tests,[23] and fourth overall.
  • Nayan Mongia broke the record for effecting most dismissals by an India wicket-keeper in a Test.[23]

After India won the toss and elected to field first, South Africa were bowled out for 235 runs. India managed just 100 runs in their first innings. South Africa in their second innings made 259, setting a target of 395 for India. India ended up scoring 66 runs, their fourth lowest total in Tests,[24] thereby losing the match by 328 runs.

2nd Test
2–6 January 1997
Scorecard
v
529/7d (162.5 overs)
Gary Kirsten 103 (204)
Venkatesh Prasad 3/114 (36 overs)
359 (92.2 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 169 (254)
Paul Adams 2/49 (18 overs)
256/6d (72 overs)
Brian McMillan 59 (76)
Javagal Srinath 3/78 (18 overs)
144 (66.2 overs)
VVS Laxman 35 (109)
Allan Donald 3/40 (18 overs)
South Africa won by 282 runs
Newlands, Cape Town
Umpires: Darrell Hair (Aus) and Rudi Koertzen (SA)
Player of the match: Brian McMillan (SA)

3rd Test
16–20 January 1997
Scorecard
v
410 (150.3 overs)
Rahul Dravid 148 (362)
Lance Klusener 3/75 (27 overs)
321 (89.1 overs)
Shaun Pollock 79 (158)
Javagal Srinath 5/104 (25.1 overs)
266/8d (83 overs)
Rahul Dravid 81 (146)
Allan Donald 3/38 (18 overs)
228/8 (68 overs)
Daryl Cullinan 122* (200)
Anil Kumble 3/40 (23 overs)
Match drawn
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Umpires: Cyril Mitchley (SA) and Peter Willey (Eng)
Player of the match: Rahul Dravid (Ind)
  • India won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Rahul Dravid (Ind) scored his first century in Tests.[31]

See also

References
  1. Kumar, Rajesh. "India-South Africa Tests — Head to Head". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  2. "SR Tendulkar as captain in Test matches". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  3. "Umpires panel for India-South Africa Tests announced". Rediff.com. ESPNcricinfo. 21 December 1996. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  4. "Records / India in South Africa Test Series, 1996/97 / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  5. "Records / India in South Africa Test Series, 1996/97 / Most wickets". EPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  6. Vasu, Anand. "South Africa dominated from the word go". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  7. "Standard Bank International One-Day Series, 1996-97". Wisden. Reprinted by ESPNcricinfo. 1998. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  8. "Standard Bank International One-Day Series - Final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  9. "Records / Standard Bank International One-Day Series, 1996/97 / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  10. Panicker, Prem (21 December 1996). "South Africa readies to take on aggressive Indian team". Rediff.com. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  11. "India in South Africa, 1996-97, India Squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  12. "Standard Bank International One Day Series, Jan-Feb 1997, South African Squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  13. "South African Squad v India, Dec 1996 - Jan 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  14. Hawthorne, Guy (20 January 1997). "Jonty so Happy to be back for SA". The Star. ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  15. Hawthorne, Guy (22 January 1997). "McMillan Out Of Triangular Tourney". The Star. ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  16. "India to South Africa 1996-97". test-cricket-tours.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  17. Colquhoun, Andy (20 December 1996). "Tour Matches: India continue long, hard road". The Telegraph. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  18. "Kapil Dev bounces national selectors". Rediff.com. ESPNcricinfo. 18 December 1996. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  19. "Jadeja, Joshi, Robin, Ankola return to the Indian side". Rediff.com. ESPNcricinfo. 13 January 1997. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. Eastern Province v Indians, India in South Africa and Zimbabwe 1996/97 at CricketArchive (subscription required)
  21. Griqualand West v Indians, India in South Africa and Zimbabwe 1996/97 at CricketArchive (subscription required)
  22. Free State v Indians, India in South Africa and Zimbabwe 1996/97 at CricketArchive (subscription required)
  23. "First Test Match, South Africa v India". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  24. "Records / Test matches / Team records / Lowest innings totals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  25. "Second Test Match, South Africa v India". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  26. "Second Test Match, South Africa v India". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  27. Dean, Geoffrey. "Test Match, Zimbabwe v South Africa 1999-2000". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  28. Owen-Smith, Michael. "Third Cornhill Test, England v South Africa 1998". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  29. Gupta, Rajneesh (14 December 2003). "Highest partnership in an overseas Test". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  30. "Records, Test matches, Partnership records, India, 6th Wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  31. "Full marks to his powers of concentration". Sportstar. October 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
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