South Africa's 3 highest run scorers vs India in Tests ft. AB de Villiers
When India under Rohit Sharma steps out on SuperSport Park, Centurion, against South Africa in the Boxing Day test, they will be looking at this as their final frontier, as it's the only country where India have never won a test series.
It's not that the Indian team didn't access the conditions or had been completely outplayed in tough South African conditions on their previous tours. On the contrary, India have been the most successful team in terms of acclimatization in recent years.
Of their last five Test tours to the "rainbow nation", spanning 16 years, India have won a Test on four of them and come pretty close to winning on other tours too. They have taken the series to a decider on four occasions and been in the series lead twice.
So, what's the reason behind India's not-so-great outings in South Africa? South African pitches possess more grass than the Australian ones, which suits bowlers with express pace and bounce bowlers.
With no assistance from the swing bowlers, pace bowlers who hit the deck hard to extract movement from the pitch trouble the batsmen there. Also, with that much humidity and hot temperature, cracks are easily formed, resulting in unpredictable bounce, making them one of the most hostile pitches to bat on.
And when one thinks about the above-mentioned difficulty level a batsman has to face on those pitches, the Indian team's recent performance, where they missed their chances by small margins, is praiseworthy.
Add to this what they did against some of the South African greats in the batting department, which elevates this by a notch. South African batsmen love playing against India, and that's reflected in their records.
In this article, we will look at the batsmen who have performed exceedingly well against India in test matches over the years.
#3 AB de Villiers - 1334 runs
One of the most versatile modern-day batsmen, along with Virat Kohli, who possessed the ability to mold his game to all kinds of conditions and situations, AB de Villiers with 1334 runs makes it to the list.
With one double ton, he scored three centuries and six half centuries against India and averaged 39.23 against them.
Who can forget his match-saving partnership with Faf du Plessis in Johannesburg, where South Africa almost chased down 458 runs in the 4th innings, or his blockathon in the Delhi test once again to almost save the test for his side?
#2 Hashim Amla - 1528 runs
One of the nemesis of India in the 2010s in test matches, Hashim Amla amassed 1528 runs against his favorite opponent in test matches.
In 21 matches, he averages 43.65, with five centuries to his credit. It was his exceptional spin play that made him one of the most difficult customers to bowl, even in tough Indian conditions.
#1 Jacques Kallis - 1734 runs
One of the greatest all-rounders, Jacques Kallis averages 69.36 with the bat against India in test matches, amassing 1734 runs in just 18 matches. He and Hashim Amla used to pile up runs for fun against the Men in Blue more often than not.
His majority of runs came in home conditions, but in India as well, his spin game was on par with many Indian batsmen. Add to this his contribution with the ball; he used to dominate the Indian side.