"Honoring both countries' leaders, for their contributions to nonviolently achieving independence" | Gandhi – Mandela Series

Gandhi – Mandela Series

BCCI and Cricket South Africa announced in 2015 that all bilateral series between India and South Africa would be named after Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. This series was contested in Test cricket, which is the longest format of the game. It was named to honor both countries' leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, for their contributions to nonviolently achieving independence.

Great Freedom Fighters

Mahatma Gandhi, who used nonviolent resistance to achieve Indian freedom, spent nearly two decades in South Africa, working as a lawyer and leading various civil rights demonstrations. Nelson Mandela, who died almost eight years ago for his battle against apartheid, spent 27 years behind bars before becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994.

Freedom Trophy

The Test Series has been named the 'Freedom Trophy'. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela gave their lives for freedom, allowing a people to be born free after years of enslavement and oppression. BCCI can pay tribute to these great men on behalf of all citizens of our country by naming the series after them and appealing to everyone and every citizen of our country to internalize their ideas and follow the path suggested by them.

Iconic and Traditional

The BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) aimed to make the trophy unique by incorporating historical content with Gandhi and Mandela connections. However, the Indian board was unable to secure iron rods from Gandhi's custody at the Yerwada jail in Pune. Cricket South Africa tried to get the barbed wire from Robben Island Prison, where Mandela served his sentence. In the absence of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela’s belongings, CSA and BCCI decided to make a special trophy which was black and gold plated to mark the iconic.

India tour of South Africa – Overall Test record

South Africa is the only country where India has never won a Test series out of all the Test-playing nations that have hosted the game. India played seven Test series in South Africa, losing six and drawing one. India has managed to win just three of the 20 Tests they have played in the African nation.

South Africa tour of India 2015-16

After the series was named in 2015, South Africa visited India to play a 4-match test series under the Captaincy of Hashim Amla, and team India was captained by Virat Kohli. India comfortably won the series 3-0 with the guidance of Ravichandran Ashwin who was named as man of the series for picking 31 Wickets in the series. Ajinkya Rahane who scored 266 runs was the most run-scorer of the series. 

First Test was played at Mohali, this test lasted for 3 days. South Africa's Kagiso Rabada made his Test debut. India was bowled out for 201 in their first innings, despite a strong start and foundation provided by Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. Despite AB de Villiers' 63, the Indian spinners held on to ensure that South Africa conceded a 17-run advantage. After Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal, India had a great platform established by Vijay and Pujara once more. However, after a 38/8 collapse, South Africa needed 218 to win the Test. South Africa was knocked out for 109 by the Indian spinners, led by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, giving India a 108-run victory. The match was the fourth in a row in India to be completed in less than three days and managed to take a 1-0 lead.

Second Test played in Bengaluru, Indian openers Murli Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan were off to a start, and India was in dominance by the close of Day 1. However, due to heavy and persistent rain over the next four days, the match was called a draw with no further play.

The Nagpur test started with a promising start, India was all out for 215 runs due to a middle-order collapse. Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla batted at the close of the day. After South Africa was reduced to 17/5 in the first session of day 2, the game swung significantly in India's favor. With JP Duminy's counter-attacking innings, India knocked them out for 79. The Indian second innings was a carbon copy of their first, with India surrendering to a middle-order collapse and being all out for 173, setting South Africa a 310-run mark. Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla batted on the second day. South Africa was bowled for 185 on the third day of the match, despite a long partnership between skipper Amla and Faf du Plessis, with Ravichandran Ashwin claiming seven wickets. The match's pitch was extensively criticized for its high turn and inconsistent bounce. The pitch was later graded as bad and poor by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The series' fourth and final Test at Delhi was the only one that lasted over the third day. India suffered a classic batting meltdown. A 98-run partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other side, resulted in the series' first 300-run innings. Rahane also smashed the first century of the series. South Africa's response mirrored their previous batting disasters, with batsman after batsmen surrendering to spin bowling. India declared at 267 in their second innings, with Rahane's second century and skipper Virat Kohli's valiant 88, to set South Africa a target of 481. After a marathon block from Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, and Temba Bavuma couldn’t help South Africa. India won the series by 337 runs in the last session.

India tour of South Africa 2017-18

South Africa won the series comfortably by 2-1. It was the first Test series of three or more matches in which all 40 wickets were taken in each match. Newlands served Test-match conditions geared toward the bowlers to make for exciting cricket. The fourth day alone produced 18 wickets, six of which went to Vernon Philander, whose career-best clinched a 72-run victory for his team on his home field. Finally, the result highlighted the contrast between the two teams, with South Africa's bowlers allowing 48 boundaries across the entire Test and India's bowlers allowing 41 in the first innings alone.

At the Centurion Test, Virat Kohli played as if he was batting in India. Cheteshwar Pujara made a poor exit. He became only the 23rd player in Test history to be run out twice in the same match at Centurion. South Africa, on the other hand, impressed the spectators by aggressive batting, merciless bowling, and outstanding fielding, defeating India by 135 runs and reclaiming the Freedom Trophy.

India finally found a way to complete their test series with a win at Johannesburg. India was unable to defeat Dean Elgar in any way. Since 1992, Dean Elgar became the First South African opener who is not dismissed even after the team innings is closed.

India tour of South Africa 2021-22

A new form of COVID-19 has been discovered in Southern Africa, prompting a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official to say that the series will be re-evaluated after they "have a full picture of the ground situation from Cricket South Africa." Virat Kohli, India's Test captain, stated on December 2, 2021 that the team would have "total certainty" about the tour in "a day or two or relatively soon." Both boards agreed to a new tour schedule on December 4, 2021, which began slightly later than expected. Four Twenty20 International (T20I) matches were originally planned for the tour, but the BCCI said they will be "played at a later date."