India’s tour of South Africa is set to
begin on December 26 with the Centurion Test. The Boxing Day Test will be
followed by two more matches in Johannesburg on January 3 and Cape Town on
January 11. Though India managed to win just three Tests in South Africa in the
last three decades, Indian batters over the years managed to produce some
great innings. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane have put up some brilliant
performances against the Proteas.

Also Read: We can win in any condition: Cheteshwar Pujara prepared for South Africa challenge

These individual sparkles often stood out
in India’s disappointing displays in South Africa. Ahead of the Boxing Day
Test, Opoyi picks up the top five innings played by Indian batters in the
rainbow nation.

Rahul Dravid                         

It was the tour of 1996-97. Indians were
notorious tourists. Unlike the 21st century Indian team, their chances of
winning abroad were rare. In 1997, the third Test between South Africa and
India at Imperial Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg ended in a draw after
legendary Rahul Dravid, the incumbent head coach of the Indian team, produced a
masterclass against a scary South African pace attack, comprising Allan Donald,
Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener.

Also Read: SA vs India: Bumrah, Shami on the verge of achieving massive Test feats

Dravid, who was then a newbie in
international cricket, hit a magnificent 148 off 362 deliveries to eat up the
energy of the South Africans. Dravid stood up to the deadly bouncers of the
South African bowlers and made sure India don’t lose the match.

VVS
Laxman

During India’s 2010-11 South Africa tour,
VVS Laxman played a very important innings to orchestrate one of India’s rare
Test wins in South Africa. In the second Test at Kingsmead, Durban, India were
bowled out for 205 in the first innings. In response, South Africa were bundled
out for 131, thanks to Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. They shared seven
wickets between themselves.

Also Read: Front foot defence: Sachin Tendulkar’s advice to break South Africa’s bowling

In the second innings, Laxman played a
crucial 96 runs knock off 171 balls as India defeated South Africa by 87 runs.

Sourav
Ganguly

After being removed as India captain,
Sourav Ganguly was under tremendous pressure. Greg Chappell was the coach of
the Indian team then. In the 2006 Johannesburg Test, the Indian team broke
against Dale Steyn, Pollock, Makhya Ntini and Andre Nel. It was only Ganguly
who managed to score a half-century and that proved to be handy for India.
Ganguly scored an unbeaten 51 off 101 balls as India beat South Africa by 123
runs after S Sreesanth ripped apart the Proteas, who were bowled out for 84 in
the first innings.

Also Read: South Africa vs India Test series: 5 Proteas players to watch out for

Virat
Kohli

During the 2013 South Africa tour, Virat
Kohli scored 119 off 181 balls in the first Test in Johannesburg and slammed 96
in the second as the match ended in a draw. Despite Kohli’s century, India were
bowled out for 280 in the first innings.

Also Read: South Africa vs India Test series: 5 Indian players to watch out for

Cheteshwar
Pujara

After South Africa were bowled out for 244
in their first innings, India thumped their authority in the match, with
Cheteshwar Pujara scoring 153 off 270 balls to help India post a massive 421 on
board. Pujara hit 21 boundaries against the likes of Steyn, Morne Morkel,
Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir. Pujara was ably backed by Kohli, who scored 96.
Despite their magnificent efforts, the match ended in a draw as South Africa
recovered from their first innings blows.