When Kapil Dev scored a sensational hundred, fighting fire with fire against a rampaging Allan Donald

Jaideep Vaidya recounts the day when one of the finest all-rounders the world of cricket has seen single-handedly, quite literally, resuscitated India’s innings from 27 for five.

Coming in to bat at 27 for five, it would have been so easy for the former India skipper to be disheartened and consider it a lost cause, but Kapil Dev wasn t giving up so easy © Getty Images

On December 29, 1992, India were staring at a huge defeat at Port Elizabeth against a menacing South African attack spearheaded by Allan ‘White Lightning’ Donald when Kapil Dev walked in to bat. Jaideep Vaidya recounts the day when one of the finest all-rounders the world of cricket has seen single-handedly, quite literally, resuscitated India’s innings from 27 for five.

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It was the third Test match of a historic tour to the Rainbow Nation. St George’s Park was hosting a Test match after 22 long years without cricket due to South Africa’s ouster from the game during the Apartheid era. It was a series that marked the Proteas’ re-entry into world cricket and also saw the debut of a certain third umpire. Billed as the “Friendship Series”, the Indian team was showered with adulation wherever they travelled.

After the first two Tests at Durban and Johannesburg ended in draws, the teams switched to the One-Day format for a seven-match series. The Indians were thoroughly outplayed 5-2, but the highlight of the series came during the second One-Day International (ODI) – also at Port Elizabeth – when Kapil Dev ‘Mankaded’ Peter Kirsten and caused a stir. Even though Kapil was well within the laws in doing so, after warning Kirsten twice before, the South African team and public saw it differently and the “Friendship Series” tag was now purely academic.

Coming back to the third Test, Allan Donald had steamed through the Indian batting line-up after being put in to bat on what looked like a sporting wicket. He had been quoted as saying that the Indians ran from fast bowling and justified his claims by taking five for 55 as India were bowled out for 212; the only silver lining for the visitors was skipper Mohammad Azharuddin’s fighting 60. However, South Africa could not make the most out of Donald’s heroics and got a first-innings lead of just 63 runs, grace à Hansie Cronje’s patient 135.

The Indians would have hoped for a turnaround in their batting in the second innings. They had, after all, the likes of Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar and Azharuddin in their ranks. But Donald wasn’t satisfied with just five wickets for the match.

“White Lightning” thundered through the Indian batting line-up yet again on Day Three and took four wickets as India wobbled to 71 for six at stumps with Kapil and Manoj Prabhakar at the crease. All top-six batsmen were out for single-figure scores within 21 overs before Kapil provided some resistance along with Prabhakar. Coming in to bat at 27 for five, it would have been so easy for the former India skipper to be disheartened and consider it a lost cause, but Kapil wasn’t giving up so easy.

The next day, December 29, Kapil forged vital partnerships with the lower order and defied the South African attack with what Wisden described as “a thrilling exhibition of classical driving and forceful leg-side strokes.”Making his knock even more impressive was the fact that Kapil was playing with an injured right hand. “The key was attack,” wrote veteran journalist Suresh Menon, “and there were some of the finest drives you could hope to see on a cricket field. Kapil’s generous back-lift and full follow-through sent the fast bowlers boundary-wards” in what was one of the best counter-attacks you would get to see on a cricket field.

Kapil scored 96 of the 144 runs India added to their overnight score – with one working hand – and in the process reached his eighth Test hundred. He was supported by Prabhakar, Kiran More and Anil Kumble – each of whom scored 17 runs in partnerships of 57, 32 and 77, respectively. The 33-year-old Kapil was eventually the last man to fall, caught in the slips off Donald’s bowling for 129 off 180 balls including 14 fours and a six. What was amazing was that Kapil had utilised half the number of deliveries as Cronje had for his 135.

Kapil’s heroics meant South Africa had to chase down 153 in three hours, or risk the weather intervening on the fifth day. Eventually, South Africa got there comfortably with captain Kepler Wessels scoring 95 out of their score of 155 for one with seven minutes left for stumps. It was a memorable win for the Proteas, their first in 22 years. Incidentally, their last win in 1970 against Australia had come on this very ground. Donald was understandably given the Man of the Match award for his match tally of 12 for 139, but if anyone deserved it other than him, it was Kapil.

The ageing warrior’s knock would go down as one of the finest by an Indian in losing causes – right alongside Azharuddin’s unbeaten 103 at Wellington, VVS Laxman’s 167 at Sydney, Tendulkar’s 136 at Chennai and Tiger Pataudi’s 148 at Headingley. It was, as Menon noted, “thrilling stuff”.

(Jaideep Vaidya is a multiple sports buff and writer at Cricket Country. He has a B.E. in Electronics Engineering, but that isn’t fooling anybody. He started writing on sports during his engineering course and fell in love with it. The best day of his life came on April 24, 1998, when he witnessed birthday boy Sachin Tendulkar pummel a Shane Warne-speared Aussie attack from the stands during the Sharjah Cup Final. A diehard Manchester United fan, you can follow him on Twitter @jaideepvaidya. He also writes a sports blog – The Mullygrubber )

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