Over the years, Indian batters have largely struggled on South African soil.
The Indian batting line-up failed to step up as a unit in both innings, getting bowled out for 245 and 131 to lose the Test match inside three days.
Over the years, Indian batters have largely struggled on South African soil. It comes as no surprise that India have failed to clinch a Test series in the Rainbow Nation so far.
However, Sachin Tendulkar is one batter who dominated the Proteas bowlers in their own den across five tours. The batting maestro scored 1161 runs from 15 Tests in South Africa at an average of 46.44 with five hundreds and three fifties.
Recently, South African pace legend Allan Donald explained why Tendulkar stood out from the rest of the visiting batters.
“Only person I know who played us well was Tendulkar, who triggered (had a trigger movement) while batting in South Africa rather than stand on middle-stump. He pressed forward and left the ball amazingly well,” Donald told PTI.
Donald also offered advice for the Indian batters currently touring South Africa. Only KL Rahul (101) in the first innings and Virat Kohli (76) in the second innings were the bright spots for India during the Centurion Test.
“If you leave the ball well here, you can score runs. You got to get bowlers to come to you and search a little bit more. They start coming to you, the opportunities of scoring get better. It's an interesting phenomenon as it's tough to bat. In Cape Town though, it will be a very good Test pitch. It will flatten out quickly, so you need to work very hard,” Donald remarked.
With the Centurion Test loss, India conceded an unassailable 1-0 lead to South Africa in the two-match Test series. The second and final Test is scheduled to be held in Cape Town from January 3.