ICC Cricket World Cup: There is one team India dread, this time too…
Guess who India have never beaten at WC. Can they do this time around? Relive their previous encounters...
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: India are yet to beat them at cricket’s mega event. Who are they? They are the Proteas. (Source: AP)
Guess who India have never beaten at the World Cup. Can they do this time around? Relive their previous encounters before looking too far ahead.
Besides winning the trophy two times, the record in the World Cup that India cherish the most is their unbeaten stint against Pakistan in the quadrennial event. However, there is a team against which the Men in Blue are yet to register their maiden victory in World Cup. South Africa.
Both the teams have played against each other thrice in the mega tournament but India are yet to secure a win. And when India take on South Africa in Melbourne on Feb 22, they will certainly look to get on the board against the Proteas.
South Africa featured in the World Cup for the first time in 1992 after being reinstating as a Test playing nation in 1991. They made a remarkable debut beating many Test playing nations, including defending champions Australia and India, to reach the semifinals where rain spoiled their fortunes and they were kicked out.
When India squared off against South Africa at the World Cups:
1992: India’s league encounter against South Africa in 1992 was just a face-saver for the 1983 champions after being already knocked out of the tournament. They had only defeated Pakistan and managed a close win against minnows Zimbabwe in the league round.
After a 2-1 series win back home few months ago, Md Azharuddin-led side was hopeful of a good show against Kepler Wessels’ boys. However, their listless bowling failed to give India their moment of joy. Batting first, India posted a solid 181-run target for the Proteas in the limited 30 overs. But a good opening stand of 128-run run between Andrew Hudson and Peter Kirsten guided their side to a comfortable six-wicket win.
1996: Both teams were placed in different groups. South Africa were knocked out of the tournament after its loss to West Indies, while India reached the semifinal where it lost badly to Sri Lanka.
1999: In the last World Cup of the century, India began their campaign against South Africa at Brighton. Batting first India posted a challenging 253, courtesy a fine 97 from Sourav Ganguly and a gritty 54 from Rahul Dravid. In return, South Africa lost their openers at a score of 22, giving India the edge.
However, Jacques Kallis rescued the side with a determined 96-run knock. With the match evenly poised in the slog overs and South Africa requiring 24 runs in 22 balls with four wickets in hand, Indian captain brought in Ajit Agarkar to bowl the 47th over. Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusner hammered Agarkar, collecting 17 runs off the over and secured an easy win with two overs spare.
2003 and 2007: While South Africa were knocked out in the first round of the 2003 edition, India reached the final but lost to defending champions Australia. In 2007, India were kicked out in the first round.
2011: India had won all their encounters before winning the coveted trophy after 28 years except their league encounter against South Africa. The match is known more for Ashish Nehra’s poor bowling than Sachin Tendulkar’s powerful play against an attack including Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
After a 146-run opening stand, India were eyeing a 350 plus total. However, a collapse in the final overs reduced India to a competitive 296 in Nagpur. South Africa batted sensibly and never looked out of touch. But with 13 required of the final over, India had little edge in home conditions. Captain Dhoni chose Ashish Nehra ignoring Harbhajan Singh who had conceded just five runs in his previous over.
Robin Peterson made the chase look easy in the final over, and sealed the contest on the fourth ball.
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