South African cricket team in India in 2005-06
| South African cricket team in India in 2005–06 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
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| South Africa | India | ||
| Dates | 14 November 2005 – 28 November 2005 | ||
| Captains | Graeme Smith | Rahul Dravid | |
| One Day International series | |||
| Results | 5-match series drawn 2–2 | ||
| Most runs | Graeme Smith (209) | Yuvraj Singh (209) | |
| Most wickets | Shaun Pollock (7) | Irfan Pathan (6) | |
| Player of the series | Graeme Smith (SA) and Yuvraj Singh (Ind) | ||
The South African cricket team visited India for cricket matches in the 2005–06 season. All the matches were one-day games, with five One Day Internationals and a tour match against a team from Hyderabad. Both sides were coming off series wins, India beating Sri Lanka 6–1 at home while South Africa had enjoyed a 4–0 win over New Zealand. Before the series, the BBC Sport website had a preview which argued that India and South Africa were both "more serious challengers to Australia's crown" as defending World Champions, and that the crowds "could be in for some seriously good cricket"
It was a close series, at any rate – South Africa took the lead twice in the series, but couldn't hold on, and with the third ODI at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium rained off, the series was tied 2–2. The Man of the Series award was also shared, between Graeme Smith of South Africa and Yuvraj Singh of India, who topped the batting averages of their teams with 209 runs. On the bowling side, Shaun Pollock contributed with seven wickets and nine maiden overs, but went for 5.5 an over in the final ODI, when India were set 222 runs to win in 50 overs.
South Africans won by eight wickets
The Hyderabad side had no batsman who made more than 21 at Vijay Sports Complex Ground as South Africa enjoyed a victory in their first match on Indian soil this season. Captain Arjun Yadav and Devishetty Vinay Kumar had Hyderabad's largest partnership, adding 34 in nine overs for the fourth wicket, but after Vinay Kumar was run out and André Nel had Yadav caught behind, the last five wickets followed for 53 and Hyderabad closed on 127. AB de Villiers then hit an unbeaten half-century as the South Africans made it to the target in 25.5 overs, just over half of the allotted 50.
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