India vs South Africa: Revisiting Team India’s record at Cape Town’s Newlands

The year 2023 ended on a disappointing note for the Indian men’s cricket team, who had a superb run especially in the ODIs but failed win major global titles. In their final fixture of the year, the Rohit Sharma-led side were served a harsh reality check by South Africa in the form of an innings and 32-run defeat in the first Test in Centurion.

India’s meek surrender at the SuperSport Park in a game that finished inside three days will have come as a shock for many, especially since this team arrived on South African shores heavily favoured to conquer the ‘Final Frontier’. Instead, their hopes of winning a first-ever Test series in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ since they first the country in 1992-93 remains a distant dream for now thanks to the humiliating loss given it’s a two-Test series and the best result they can get from here is a 1-1 draw.

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Rohit and Co, however, do have an opportunity to make up for their shoddy performance in the ‘Highveld’ and begin 2024 on a positive note by fighting back against the Proteas in the second Test at Cape Town’s picturesque Newlands. A victory in the second Test will at least allow them to draw a Test series in South Africa for only the second time — MS Dhoni having led the Indians to a similar result in the 2010-11 tour — and end the tour on a high.

However, before the second Test gets underway from Wednesday, we take a look at how the team has fared at this venue over the years.

India’s Test record at Cape Town

Team India have won only a handful of Tests in South Africa since they first toured the nation in 1992-93 — four to be precise. However, none of those victories occurred at the Newlands Cricket Ground, where the best result they’ve managed are a couple of draws.

Matches: 6

Won: 0

Lost: 4

Draw: 2

Two of India’s victories have come at Johannesburg’s Wanderers Stadium (2006 and 2018), including their first-ever Test win on South Africa under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy 17 years ago. Dhoni’s side would defeat Graeme Smith’s Proteas at Durban’s Kingsmead in 2010 while Virat Kohli led the Indians to a 113-run victory at the SuperSport in their last trip back in the 2021-22 season.

The first of India’s two draws at this venue came in their maiden tour of South Africa in 1992-93, in which the Proteas ended up collecting an 84-run first innings lead despite a patient 73 from batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. Pacer Javagal Srinath would then collect 4/33 in the second innings which would help him collect the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

India’s second draw occurred in 2011, and Tendulkar was once again among the runs — scoring 146 in the first innings that would help the Dhoni-led side collect a slender first innings lead. It would be the 51st and final Test century of his decorated career.

Incidentally, Tendulkar has also scored a century in a losing cause at this venue — in 1997 to be more specific. It was in the final Test of that tour that Tendulkar scored 169 and forged a famous 222-run sixth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Azharuddin (115) that help India eventually post 359 from 58/5, avoiding a follow-on in the process. The ruthless Proteas, however, would bowl India out for 144 in the second innings to register a dominant 282-run victory and win the series 2-0.

While Cape Town usually hosts the final Test of a series, the 2018 tour commenced at this venue with India succumbing to a 72-run defeat in a low-scoring game despite fighting back in the second innings. The match witnessed the Test debut of a certain Jasprit Bumrah, who collected four wickets in the match including 3/39 in the second innings.

In the 2007 and 2022 fixtures, Team India had arrived in Newlands with the series level at 1-1 after winning the opening Test but would surrender the series to the hosts with a defeat. Interestingly, the Proteas would clinch both encounters with successful chases — winning by five wickets in a chase of 211 in 2007 and by seven wickets in a chase of 212 in 2022, which was also Kohli’s last game as a captain.