India win friends; South Africa, the series

South Africa played their first Test on their return to the international fold against the West Indies at Bridgetown. But the first visitors to South Africa after the ban was lifted were the Indian team, who incidentally also were the first non-white side to officially tour the country. Predictably enough, the tour was always seen in a wider context. The visit had the active support of the African National Congress and was almost entirely free from political rancour. Much of the profits made by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) went into their development programme for black cricketers while the Indian players undertook a heavy schedule of duties off the field in townships and elsewhere and proved to be fine ambassadors.

This Test was also notable for the first decision given by the third (TV) umpire. Tendulkar was the batsmen adjudged run out by Karl Liebenberg after Cyril Mitchley gave the now all too familiar signal to him from the field. Indeed the tour itself has its place in history for another reason - it saw the introduction of ICC's scheme for independent umpires with West Indian Steve Bucknor being the neutral official.

On the field, unfortunately, the Indians did not perform as well as expected. They came to South Africa from Zimbabwe where they had played in that country's inaugural Test. Zimbabwe had the better of the drawn game and even though India won the only ODI against Zimbabwe, they quickly became aware that it was not going to be an easy tour as conditions in South Africa were not very different from those prevailing in Zimbabwe. Moreover, the South Africans were a much stronger unit.

The worst fears were confirmed for not only was the four Test series lost 0-1, but the tourists also went down 2-5 in the ODIs. While the Indians could, more or less, match the home side in batting, they fell behind in the departments of fast bowling and fielding. The home side's bowling, spearheaded by Allan Donald and their fielding, led by Jonty Rhodes was, in the ultimate analysis, the vital difference.

Durban, with its huge Indian community, was fittingly the venue for the first Test between the two countries. There was a keen battle for the first innings in a slow scoring game but with rain washing out the fourth day's play, the match petered out into a tame draw. The captain, Kepler Wessels top scored with 118 as South Africa scored 254. India at one stage were 38 for four, but a courageous 103 by Pravin Amre playing his first Test saw them get 277. Amre and Kiran More (55) added 101 runs for the eighth wicket. South Africa, after the fourth day wash out, used the final day for batting practice.

This Test was also notable for the first decision given by the third (TV) umpire. Tendulkar was the batsmen adjudged run out by Karl Liebenberg after Cyril Mitchley gave the now all too familiar signal to him from the field. Indeed the tour itself has its place in history for another reason - it saw the introduction of ICC's scheme for independent umpires with West Indian Steve Bucknor being the neutral official.

The second Test at Johannesburg was again marked by a keen duel for supremacy over the first four days but the match again ended in a tame draw with the Indians showing no inclination towards chasing a tough target.

Rhodes (91) and Brian McMillan (98) rescued South Africa from a poor start (26 for four) and the home team ultimately totaled 292. Sachin Tendulkar's 111 helped India reply with 227. In the course of his knock, Tendulkar became, at 19 years, 217 days, the youngest player to reach 1000 runs in Test cricket, displacing Kapil Dev (21 years, 27 days, in 1979-80). Even as South Africa attempted to consolidate on the fourth day, the batsmen were held in check by a lengthy spell by Anil Kumble, who finished with six for 53 off 44 overs. A total of 252 stretched their overall lead to 317 but the Indians made no attempt to reach the target. With South Africa too never really in the hunt, the match had a dull finish. The Test had a total attendance of 80,000, among them the president of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela.

By the time of the third Test at Port Elizabeth, the South Africans had wrapped up the one day series comfortably and were confidence personified. This was reflected in the final result - a victory by nine wickets. Not unexpectedly, Donald was the architect, with a bag of 12 for 139. He took five for 55 in the first innings, restricting India to 212. Azharuddin top scored with 60.

With Hansie Cronje playing the sheet anchor role to perfection, South Africa established a first innings lead of 63. Coming in when the first wicket fell without a run on the board, Cronje was last out for 135, after batting for eight and three quarter hours and facing 411 balls. Donald proved to be lethal the second time around. He reduced India to 31 for six on the third evening and it took a great knock by Kapil Dev to turn the innings around. The Indian all rounder hit 129 to help the Indians to get to 215 but the final honours still lay with Donald who had seven for 84. South Africa, led by Wessels' unbeaten 95 made light of the modest target of 153 and victory was achieved with more than a day to spare.

The final Test at Cape Town was marked by negative cricket by both sides and there was never really any possibility of a result. The approach by the teams is best exemplified by the fact that they averaged 1.83 runs an over. South Africa, intent on clinching the series, dawdled along before declaring at 360 for nine late on the second day. India, needing to win to level the series, batted even more slowly before they were all out for 276 on the fourth evening. The rest of the match was a formality and a series which promised much, came to an unsatisfactory conclusion.