ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India vs South Africa: The history of their rivalry in the tournament

#2 India vs. South Africa, Semi-Finals, ICC Champions Trophy 2002

A late flurry with the ball helped India get the better of South Africa

How many times do we witness a team bat 50 overs and come up short chasing just 261? It seems unbelievable now but we have to remember that this was way back in 2002 and the team chasing was South Africa.

India put up a below-par score of 261 at a beautiful batting track in Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, thanks in part to Sehwag’s top order blitzkrieg and Yuvraj’s lower order class.

South Africa, buoyed by Herschelle Gibbs’ 118, needed just 69 runs off the last 14 overs before they decided to blow their cricketing brains all over the pitch starting with Gibbs’ retired hurt. The team, thereon, fell like nine pins and Kallis was partly blamed for the eventual loss scoring at a paltry strike rate of 72.93.

India once again slayed the African nation in the semi-finals of the then rechristened ICC Champions Trophy. The tournament though suffered an identity crisis, as even after three weeks of play no single team won the tournament (India and Sri Lanka shared the trophy) thanks to some wise owl who thought a tournament in the middle of the second monsoon in Sri Lanka was a good idea.