India vs South Africa: What is the ‘Final Frontier’? Here’s everything you need to know

Dec 29, 2023 - 17:30

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India vs South Africa: What is the ‘Final Frontier’? Here’s everything you need to know

The term ‘Final Frontier’ is trending again towards the end of the year and has been among the top phrases this week on social media. It reached fever pitch before the first Test between South Africa and India in Centurion and then after the Indian team crashed to an innings and 32-run defeat.

India were widely backed to come out on top despite not having played Test cricket since July. Instead, they ended up getting outperformed by the Proteas in all three departments to concede the series lead. Dean Elgar slammed a majestic 185 in his final appearance at the SuperSport Park, his home ground, to help South Africa mount a challenging 408 on the board.

Kagiso Rabada (5/59) and Nandre Burger (4/33) were the pick of the all-pace South African attack in the first and second innings respectively, in which the visitors were bowled out for 245 and 131.

Read | India get a reality check with innings thrashing in Centurion

India will now have to go back to the drawing board and reassess their combination as well as their tactics heading into the New Year’s Test in Cape Town, where they will be hoping for a series-leveling win before flying out of the ‘Rainbow Nation’. With their hopes of conquering the ‘Final Frontier’ done and dusted for now, sharing the trophy with the Proteas is the best that the Indians can manage.

But what exactly is the ‘Final Frontier’ in the Indian context? And what are the origins of the term in cricket?

What is the ‘Final Frontier’ from Indian cricket’s perspective?

Simply put, the final ‘Final Frontier’ for the India men’s cricket team is beating South Africa in a Test series in South Africa.

Ever since they first toured the nation in 1992-93, they have played nine bilateral Test series’ in South Africa, including the current one. India have lost seven of these assignments, and managed to avoid a defeat only once — with a 1-1 draw under MS Dhoni’s leadership in the 2010-11 tour.

India’s Test record in South Africa is such that it took 14 years for them to register their first victory, with Rahul Dravid’s men handing the Graeme Smith-led side a 123-run defeat in December 2006 which gave them an unlikely 1-0 series lead.

With the possibility of winning the two-match series over after their meek surrender in Centurion, the ‘Final Frontier’ remains unconquered for now.

What are the origins of the term?

The term was first made popular by former Australia captain Steve Waugh ahead of his team’s tour of India in early 2001. Australia were on a roll at that point, having won 15 Tests in a row including a 5-0 whitewash of West Indies in their home summer. And this was after Waugh led the Aussies to the title in the 1999 ODI World Cup from a shaky start.

Cricket had rarely witnessed such domination by one team, not since the West Indians of the 1970s and the 1980s. All that was left for the Australians to achieve at that time was beating India in a Test series in India — a feat they had last achieved in the 1969-70 season in which the Bill Lawry-led side ended up winning 3-1.

Australia would hammer the Indians by 10 wickets in the first Test in Mumbai to go 1-0 up in the series, and were on the verge of conquering the ‘Final Frontier’ after enforcing the follow-on in the second Test in Kolkata, bowling India out for 171 after posting 445.