South Africa's 3 highest wicket-takers vs India in Tests ft. Dale SteynÂ
In an attempt to register their maiden Test series win in South Africa, Team India gear up for a two-match series. The opening Test match is scheduled to take place at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday, December 26.
Having played eight Test series in the "rainbow nation," India managed to draw just one series in 2010 and have lost the other seven.
The upcoming series will see the return of senior players, including skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah. Rohit, who took the red-ball captaincy from Kohli after India's 2021/22 tour of South Africa, will lead India for the first time on South African soil.
The epic cricket rivalry between India and South Africa has produced countless captivating moments. From Sachin Tendulkar's majestic centuries to Shaun Pollock's fiery spells, there have always been some memorable contributions.
In the cauldron of Test cricket, where every run and every dismissal carries immense weight, a few South African bowlers have had the better of the Indian batters from time to time.
On that note, let's take a look at South Africa's three highest wicket-takers against India in Test cricket history.
#3 Allan Donald - 57 wickets in 11 Tests
![Donald Appeals For Wicket vs England [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/12/67442-17034769043392-1920.jpg?w=500)
Famously known as the "white lightening", Allan Donald was lethal against India in the whites. Alongside Shaun Pollock (52 wickets vs India), Donald shared a brilliant camaraderie and was quite phenomenal.
The man, who claimed three ten-wicket match hauls in Tests, played 11 five-day games between 1992 and 2000 against India and claimed 57 wickets.
His bowling average of 17.31 against India was the best among all South African bowlers, who took 20 wickets or more.
Inarguably in his best performance against India, Donald picked up 12 wickets (5/55 & 7/84) to lead South Africa to a 9-wicket victory in a Boxing Day Test in Gqeberha in 1992. Donald also took 5/40 and 4/14 in Durban in the first Test in 1996.
#2 Morne Morkel - 58 wickets in 17 Tests
A player who made his Test debut against India, Morne Morkel is second on the list with 58 wickets in 17 Tests.
With extremely tall height and nippy bounce, Morkel intimidated the Indian batters through most of his career. His ability to hit the deck and generate extra bounce off the deck always kept the Indian batters on their toes.
However, Morkel took only one five-wicket haul against India. His only five-for came in the first Test in 2010 in Centurion. Across 31 innings against India, Morkel took 58 wickets at an average of 26.41 and a strike rate of 53.7.
#1 Dale Steyn - 65 wickets in 14 Tests
![Dale Steyn during the Second Test - South Africa v India: Day Two [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/12/e10f3-17034791202102-1920.jpg)
South Africa's highest wicket-taker in Test history with 439 wickets, Dale Steyn always wreaked havoc against India and is the most successful Protea bowler against the Asian giants.
Steyn, who retired from all forms of cricket in 2021, terrified the Indian batting attack with his menacing swing, that too at a frightening speed. Steyn, running in at full throttle and bamboozling the stumps, was a sight to behold during his prime days.
Steyn, who dominated the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings for a record 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014, claimed as many as 65 wickets in just 14 Tests against India at an average of 21.53.
Interestingly, Steyn went wicketless just four times out of the 23 innings he bowled against India. His best performance came in Nagpur in 2010, when he claimed 10 wickets for 108 runs as the visitors won the game by a huge margin of an innings and 6 runs.