India vs South Africa Tests — complete statistical highlights featuring leading scorers, wicket-takers, and memorable moments.
South Africa are set to tour India for a two-match Test series, continuing the long and storied rivalry between the two nations. The Blue Brigade whitewashed West Indies at home in their previous red-ball series by a 2-0 margin. Meanwhile, the Proteas drew the two-match Test series in Pakistan by a 1-1 margin.
Overall, India have faced South Africa in 19 Tests at home and earned 11 victories at a win-loss ratio of 2.20. The hosts experienced defeats five times and drew three fixtures. The last win in the five-day format for the Rainbow Nation in India came in Nagpur during the 2009/10 series.
Let’s take a look at the statistical highlights between India and South Africa in Tests in India since Jan 2005
Since the beginning of 2005, India posted their highest innings score against the Proteas at home in 2010 at the Eden Gardens. Four centuries from Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and VVS Laxman pushed the Blue Brigade to 643/6 dec.
Meanwhile, South Africa managed 558/6 dec as their highest Test innings score in India. For them, Hashim Amla remained unbeaten on 253 while Jacques Kallis registered 173 runs in Nagpur.
In terms of most runs from both sides in this parameter, Amla tops the chart with 915 runs in 15 innings, while Sehwag has collected 662 runs in eight innings.
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Most Test runs for South Africa vs India in India since Jan 1, 2005
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s/100s | HS |
| H Amla | 15 | 915 | 70.38 | 02/04 | 235* |
| Ab de Villiers | 15 | 630 | 45.00 | 03/01 | 217* |
| J Kallis | 08 | 383 | 47.87 | 00/02 | 173 |
| D Elgar | 13 | 369 | 30.75 | 00/01 | 160 |
| N McKenzie | 05 | 341 | 85.25 | 01/01 | 155* |
Most Test runs for India vs South Africa in India since Jan 1, 2005
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | 50s | 100s | HS |
| V Sehwag | 08 | 662 | 82.75 | 00 | 03 | 319 |
| R Sharma | 08 | 555 | 69.37 | 00 | 03 | 212 |
| V Kohli | 10 | 517 | 64.62 | 01 | 01 | 254* |
| A Rahane | 10 | 482 | 60.25 | 01 | 03 | 127 |
| C Pujara | 10 | 347 | 34.70 | 03 | 00 | 81 |
There have been several Test partnerships from both camps in India. During the previous meeting between the two sides in India, Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma put up an opening stand of 317 runs in Visakhapatnam. For the Proteas, the highest Test partnership since 2005 in India belongs to Amla and Kallis – 340 runs for the third wicket in 2010.
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Top five Test partnerships for India vs South Africa in India (for any wicket) since Jan 2005
| Partners | Wicket | Runs | Year |
| M Agarwal & R Sharma | 1st | 317 | 2019 |
| R Dravid & V Sehwag | 2nd | 268 | 2008 |
| A Rahane & R Sharma | 4th | 267 | 2019 |
| M Dhoni & VVS Laxman | 7th | 259* | 2010 |
| V Sehwag & S Tendulkar | 3rd | 249 | 2010 |
Top five Test partnerships for South Africa vs India in India (for any wicket) since Jan 2005
| Partners | Wicket | Runs | Year |
| H Amla & J Kallis | 3rd | 340 | 2010 |
| Villiers & J Kallis | 5th | 256 | 2008 |
| H Amla & A Petersen | 2nd | 209 | 2010 |
| Q de Kock & D Elgar | 6th | 164 | 2019 |
| Amla & N McKenzie | 2nd | 157 | 2008 |
India’s former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remains the leading Test wicket-taker against South Africa at home since the start of 2005. He has collected 46 wickets in 13 innings at an average of below 16. In the same period for the Rainbow Nation, Dale Steyn is the leading wicket-taker in India with 26 wickets at 21.38.
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Most Test wickets for South Africa vs India in India since Jan 1, 2005
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| D Steyn | 09 | 26 | 21.38 | 02 | 01 | 7/51 |
| M Morkel | 13 | 21 | 32.28 | 00 | 00 | 3/19 |
| I Tahir | 07 | 14 | 21.35 | 01 | 00 | 5/38 |
| P Harris | 07 | 13 | 54.23 | 00 | 00 | 3/76 |
| S Harmer | 04 | 10 | 25.40 | 00 | 00 | 4/61 |
Most Test wickets for India vs South Africa in India since Jan 1, 2005
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | 5W | 10W | BBI |
| R Ashwin | 13 | 46 | 15.73 | 05 | 01 | 7/66 |
| R Jadeja | 13 | 36 | 18.00 | 02 | 00 | 5/21 |
| H Singh | 08 | 29 | 27.06 | 02 | 00 | 5/59 |
| U Yadav | 08 | 16 | 12.12 | 00 | 00 | 3/9 |
| M Shami | 06 | 13 | 14.76 | 01 | 00 | 5/35 |
With the retirement of Ashwin, Rohit, and Virat Kohli, the upcoming series against South Africa will write a new chapter in the record books. It’s the same story for the Temba Bavuma-led side; they will aim for their maiden Test series victory in India. The current WTC champions have a decent batting and bowling line-up with a balanced mixture of youth and experience.
The opening clash of the series will take place on November 14 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. South Africa’s only Test victory at this ground in three attempts against India came in 1996. Later, the focus will shift to the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati for the second Test on November 22.
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