Top 5 India-South Africa ODI matches so far

India and South Africa have played some memorable ODIs over the years

With India and South Africa beginning another ODI series from tomorrow, we take a look at the past, and at five of the most enthralling contests played out between the two teams.

1. 1993 Hero Cup Semifinal, Kolkata

Eden Gardens. Under lights for the first time. No better time than to play out a classic ODI. After Azharuddin had won the toss and chosen to bat, India were pegged back early, reduced to 18/3. But the skipper played a fine hand, scoring 90, and was ably assisted by Pravin Amre to get India out of trouble.

But the 195 that India managed still didn’t seem to be enough. But South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals and found themselves needing 45 runs off the last 5 overs. They brought that down to 6 needed off the last over. And that’s when a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar decided to take things into his own hands. An over that went for 3 runs, and India had won the game by 2 runs.

2. ICC World Cup 2011, Nagpur

A whirlwind start. A spectacular century from Sachin. India found themselves at 267/1 in the 40th over after having won the toss and chosen to bat first. What followed was a collapse of spectacular proportions. 29 runs and 9 wickets later, India were bowled out for 296, Dale Steyn leading the way with a 5-wicket haul.

For South Africa, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis set it up, AB De Villiers kept up the momentum and Robin Peterson provided the finish. With 13 needed off the last over bowled by Ashish Nehra, Robin Peterson struck a few decisive blows and finished the game with two balls to spare, ensuring South Africa, for a moment, shed their tag of ‘Chokers’.