Top 5 Test run-getters for India in South Africa
Tied to racial boundaries, cricket was one of the victims of the apartheid era in South Africa but has bounced back admirably to become the second-most popular sport in the country. India has played their part in bringing the nation back to the game, with their historic comeback Test having being played at Calcutta.
Now world beaters, South Africa have used the home advantage to good effect over the years, testing touring batsmen from around the world with their pacy wickets. The Indian team has been caught off-guard on many occasions, and the current side is prepping for what promises to be a grueling tour, come January 5.
As India's batting stars get ready for one of their biggest tests till date, here's remembering their five most prolific predecessors who stamped their class on South African soil:
#5 Virender Sehwag
The occasion, the surface, and big names hardly mattered to Sehwag, who scythed through bowling attacks at an astonishing rate. After a stop-start introduction to ODI cricket, Sehwag found a way in the Test side in 2001 and left such an impression that his free-spirited batting style became indispensable.
Wearing Ajit Agarkar's pads, the youngster matched Sachin Tendulkar, his idol, stroke for stroke, blasting a century on debut at Bloemfontein, against an attack featuring Shaun Pollock, a swifter Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini, and Lance Klusener, among others.
However, the subsequent innings hardly did any good to his statistics in South Africa, with only one fifty to show across the next two tours (2006-07 and 2010-11). After a dismal tour in 2010-11, his Test career started to go on a decline.
Tests: 8
Runs: 382
Average: 25.46
50s/100s: 1/1
Highest: 105