7 prominent Indian batsmen who average under 40 in Tests vs South Africa

India are all set to take on South Africa in the three-match Test series starting from 2 October at Visakhapatnam. The other two Tests will be held at Pune and Ranchi from 10 October and 19 October respectively.

The last time South Africa were in India, in 2015-16, they had a miserable series, losing 3-0. Traditionally though South Africa have had the upper hand over India in the longer format. They have been victorious in 15 of the 36 Tests played against India.

In fact, they won a Test series in India in their very second attempt, in 1999-2000, when Hansie Cronje led his troops to a 2-0 win over a strong Indian side led by Sachin Tendulkar.

If we take away the disastrous 2015-16 tour of India, they have actually done pretty well in the country, winning a total of five Test matches. In fact, they drew back-to-back series in India, in 2007-08 and again in 2009-10.

One of the key reasons behind South Africa’s impressive performance against India has been that they have always had a strong bowling attack, which has proved potent irrespective of the conditions. This explains why a number of renowned Indian batsmen don’t possess a great record against South Africa.

In this build up feature to the current Test series, we look at seven Indian batsmen, past and present, who average under 40 in Tests against South Africa.

#7 Shikhar Dhawan

The southpaw’s abysmal Test record against South Africa is one of the reasons he is no longer in the reckoning for a place in the longer format.

While Shikhar Dhawan averages a healthy 40.61 overall from 34 Tests, with seven hundreds and five fifties, his average against South Africa is only half as good. In 13 innings across seven Tests, Dhawan has managed only 258 runs at an average of 21.50.

He has failed to cross the fifty mark even once, with a highest of 45 not out at Bengaluru in November 2015.

Also see - IND vs SA head to head