4 controversies from the India-South Africa series

Tendulkar was accused of ball tampering.

India tour of South Africa is one of the most awaited battles of this cricket season. A very well-balanced South African side will take on a young Indian team in their own backyard. South Africa will be touring India for a period of 72 days in which they will all the three formats of the game i.e. T20, ODI and Tests.

Over the years, we have seen many great matches between these two teams. The Crick Blog's Deep Mehta lists 4 most controversial moments from the past India vs South Africa series.

1. Corruption, Cricket and Cronje!

In the year 2000, former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was involved in a controversy that handed him a life-ban. His phones were trapped by Delhi Police and it was reported that Cronje was involved in fixing and he took money to under perform in the ODI serires. After this incident, Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje refused to visit Indian shores until 2007.

2. 2001: Excessive appealing and ball tampering.

Match referee Mike Denness handed five Indian players fines, while Sachin Tendulkar was accused of ball tampering.  After this, the Indian team threatened to boycott the second Test. Consequently, Denness was sacked for the next Test and India agreed to take the field.

3. 2005: Sourav Ganguly dropped and Greg Chappell shows the middle finger to fans. 

In the 2005 India vs South Africa series, Sourav Ganguly was dropped from the ODI squad after his poor performances in the previous matches. This move was criticised by many cricket pundits and fans across India. Ganguly blamed coach Greg Chappell for his exclusion. After this, the crowd started booing Chappell. Chappell worsened things as he pointed his middle finger to the tormenting Eden Gardens crowd. The crowd started supporting the Africans and celebrated their win. A disgraceful moment in Indian Cricket history!

4. 2008: India saves the series, but diminishes reputation.

After a humiliating defeat in the previous Test, India aimed to draw the series. A dust bowl prepared specially for the Indians ensured that they won the last game. The move back fired initially but again Dada saved the match with his fighting knock. The ICC punished BCCI for preparing an unfinished track. This came as a big insult for the BCCI.