Ahead of South Africa and India's One Day International Series, which started in Kolkata on 10 November 1991, let's look back at four eventful matches between the two countries at Cricket World Cups Tournaments.
South Africa and India – the No.1 and No.2 sides in the ODI rankings respectively – have met on 83 occasions in one-day International cricket, which of South Africa have won 46 and India 34.
Four of those ODIs have come at a World Cup, with the South Africa coming out on top in three of those battle. On the eve of their latest ODI series, we take a trip down memory lane to re-live those World Cup encounters.
15th March 1992 – Adelaide - South Africa won by 6 wickets
The 1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup was the first time coloured clothing was worn in the tournament, the first time white balls were used, the first time it was held in the southern hemisphere and the first time South Africa had taken part in the tournament.
South Africa and India faced off for the first-ever time at a Benson & Hedges World Cup when they met in the round-robin stage, in their final game of the group.
With rain interrupted to reducing the match to 30 overs per side, India were put in to bat by South Africa skipper Kepler Wessels. Despite a bad start – losing opener Kris Srikkanth for a duck.
India scored at an impressive six-an-over to finish on 180/6. Captain Mohammad Azharuddin top-scored with 79 from 77 balls and was ably supported by Kapil Dev, who struck a quick-fire 42 off just 29 deliveries.
For the South Africa, First wicket opening stand of 128 between Andrew Hudson (53) and Player of the Match Peter Kirsten (84) went a long way to ensuring their victory. Despite losing Adrian Kuiper and Jonty Rhodes cheaply, South Africa got over the line with five balls to spare.
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15 May 1999 - Hove - South Africa won by 4 wickets
It was seven years before the two teams met again at the World Cup, as they both began their 1999 campaign with a clash in Hove.
Rahul Dravid would finish the tournament as leading run-scorer, and he showed his master class in the first game, scoring 54.
But the star of India’s batting line-up was opener Sourav Ganguly, who fell three short of a century – run out on 97 as India finished on 253/5.
India would have been confident of defending their target – especially after disposing of both South Africa’s openers, Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs, for 3 and 7 respectively, leaving the South Africa 22 for 2.
However, Jacques Kallis was at his sublime best, hitting 96 to lead his side’s charge. Around him, valuable runs from Mark Boucher (34) and Jonty Rhodes (39*) helped South Africa reach the target with 16 balls remaining.
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29 March 2011 – Nagpur - South Africa won by 3 wickets
South Africa made it a hat-trick of World Cup wins over India in a thriller in Nagpur back in 2011.
Batting first in the Group B clash, India’s top three of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were in sensational form, scoring 253 of their side’s 296 runs.
India Opener, Sehwag (73) and Tendulkar (111) put on 142 and took the attack to South Africa, scoring at more than a run-a-ball, with Gambhir coming in at No.3 and hitting 69.
After claiming the wicket of Gambhir, Dale Steyn, the Player of the Match, helped cleaned up the rest of India’s line-up, finishing with figures of 5/50 as India were all out for 296.
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In a thrilling chase, Hashim Amla (61), Jacques Kallis (69) and AB de Villiers (52) all hit half-centuries to put the South Africa in a good position.
It was down to Faf du Plessis (25* off 23) and Robin Peterson (18* off 7) to get South Africa to the target with just two balls remaining.
Sachin Tendulkar 175 © Getty Images |
22 February 2015 – Melbourne - India won by 130 runs
Shikhar Dhawan was the star of the show in 2015 as India broke their World Cup duck against South Africa at the fourth time battle
The Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan hit 16 fours and two sixes on his way to 137 from 146 balls – celebrating with his signature arms-outstretched pose when he reached his century.
Dhawan was supported by Virat Kohli (46) and Ajinkya Rahane (79 from 60 balls), as India finished their 50 overs on 307/7.
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