In the world of cricket India and South Africa are the greatest teams and they are also arch rivals. They have faced each other several times in every format and always had close matches. Both teams are loaded with skilled players and this has been constant for a very long time.
The National Indian Cricket Team and National South African Cricket Team always had head-to-head matches and that’s why their fans eagerly wait for these teams to clash.
When This Rivalry Started?
India and RSA faced each other for the first time in 1991 in One Day Internationals. This was the first chapter of this never-ending and exciting story, after this match, the rivalry became even bigger, and both teams gave their hundred percent to emerge as the winner. This match was won by South Africa.
Test
In the toughest and oldest format of cricket, these teams always gave neck-to-neck competition to each other. They played the first test series in South Africa and the host nation won the series by 1-0.
In 1996, South Africa toured India for the test series and India won their first test match against RSA and won the series by 2-1. After 10 years in 2006, India made history by winning the first-ever test on South African soil. India lost the series but the win gave confidence to the Indian side. And in 2018 Inida won the Johansberg test and played very hard to win the series but unfortunately, India lost the series by 2-1. But when South Africa toured India for test series Inida never let them win any series here.
ODIs
In ODIs, these teams faced each other several times and those matches were worth watching. In the World Cup or Champions Trophy, India won more matches than RSA but in the bilateral series, Proteas gave tough competition to India.
T20Is
In T20s India always won against South Africa and gave them a horrific memory for a lifetime. In 2007, the first-ever T20 World Cup was held in South Africa but India won the cup and also defeated RSA in the tournament. In the 2014 T20 World Cup, India defeated South Africa in the semi-final and knocked them out of the tournament. And in the 2024 T20 World Cup India defeated South Africa in the finals and ended their 11 years of trophy drought.
ICC Trophies Of These Teams
The best way to measure the greatness of any team is by looking at their ICC trophies. In this section, India single-handedly won the contest as they have won 5 ICC trophies including 2 ODI World Cups, 2 T20 World Cups, and 1 Champions Trophy. But South Africa only won 1 ICC trophy, which is the Champions Trophy. South Africa reached finals and semi-finals several times but they always failed to grab the trophy and that’s the reason they are called “chokers” of ICC events.
Key Players Of India And South Africa
Both teams have produced great players who played an important role in leading the cricket for their respective countries. Players of these teams always made a major impact and received immense love and support from their fans and also from their opponents.
Key players of the Indian team are Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Jaspreet Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and others.
Big names from the South African team are AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Jack Kallis, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, and others.
Rivalry In Numbers
In the test, South Africa won 17 matches but India won 16 matches. In ODIs and T20Is India won more matches than South Africa.
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