South Africa played two Tests in India during their visit to the country in 2004-05.
1st Test at Kanpur (November 20-24, 2004): South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first at Green Park. The visitors pulled off a surprise by sending Andrew Hall in as the makeshift opener with Graeme Smith, and the move worked wonders. In his most memorable effort in international cricket, Hall batted for nearly 600 minutes for his 163 before being bowled by Anil Kumble. The others played around him, scoring 30s and 40s as South Africa declared at 510 for 9. For India, Kumble claimed 6 for 131.
India replied in equally brilliant fashion. Virender Sehwag led the way, matching Hall, as he scored a quite memorable 164. Incidentally, it was Hall who eventually dismissed him lbw, but by then India were safe. There were good contributions all round from India. Gautam Gambhir narrowly missed out on a hundred himself. He made 96, and added 218 for the opening wicket with Sehwag. Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly also made half-centuries as India finished on 466, and the match seemed headed for a draw.
Hall shone with the ball as well, claiming three wickets while Makhaya Ntini also picked up the sane number of scalps. Batting in the second innings, South Africa reached 4 for 169 when the curtains came down on the match. Hall was the man of the match for his superb all-round show. 
2nd Test at Kolkata (November 28-December 2, 2004): South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the Test that marked the debut of Hashim Amla. Incisive bowling by India's pacers kept the Proteas down to 305 in their first innings. Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan both claimed three wickets each as South Africa could not take advantage of winning the toss. Jacques Kallis, as he had often done for his side, held the innings together for a hundred. Another Jacques, Rudolph, also contributed 61, but the overall performance of the batting unit wasn't satisfactory.
India's batsmen built on the good work of their bowlers. Sehwag smashed 88 in 118 and Rahul Dravid made a typical hard-fought 80. No batsman scored a hundred for India, but crucial contributions came from the likes of Ganguly, Laxman and Dinesh Karthik lower down the order. Thanks to it, India managed to cross the 400 mark. For South Africa, Ntini was the most successful bowler with 4 for 112.
In spite of half-centuries from skipper Smith and Kallis, South Africa finished with a disappointing 222 in their second innings. Their batting completely came apart against the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Kumble. The 'Turbanator' was the wrecker-in-chief with 7 for 87 while Kumble played the supporting act with three wickets. Chasing 117, India lost openers Sehwag and Gambhir, but Dravid and Tendulkar took them home with ease. Harbhajan was the man of the match, and Sehwag man of the series.
--By A Cricket Analyst
