India Tour of South Africa Tests 2021-22: South Africa Win 2-1 — Petersen Player of Series 276 Runs, KL Rahul 123 Centurion (India First Asian Win at Ground), Thakur 7/61 Best India vs SA, Elgar 96* Johannesburg, Pant 100* Cape Town, Bumrah 5/42, Jansen Debut, Kohli Resigned After Series

South Africa won the 3-match Test series against India in December 2021-January 2022 by 2-1 — India's eighth Test series in South Africa, and their eighth without a series win. Keegan Petersen was Player of the Series with 276 runs; Kagiso Rabada took 20 series wickets. Virat Kohli captained India; Dean Elgar captained South Africa. Kohli resigned as India Test captain shortly after the series concluded, ending his tenure that had begun in 2014. 1st Test SuperSport Park, Centurion (December 26-30, 2021): India won by 113 runs — IND 327 & 174; SA 197 & 191. KL Rahul scored 123 in India's 1st innings (Player of the Match). Mohammed Shami took 5/44 in South Africa's 1st innings; Bumrah also took wickets in both South Africa innings. India became the first Asian team to win a Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion — only England and Australia had done so previously. 2nd Test The Wanderers, Johannesburg (January 3-6, 2022): South Africa won by 7 wickets — IND 202 & 266; SA 229 & 243/3. Dean Elgar scored an unbeaten 96 in South Africa's 2nd-innings chase of 240 (Player of the Match). Shardul Thakur took 7/61 in South Africa's 1st innings — the best innings figures ever recorded by an India bowler against South Africa in Tests. Marco Jansen took 4/31 in India's 1st innings in his early career Test appearances. 3rd Test Newlands, Cape Town (January 11-14, 2022): South Africa won by 7 wickets — SA 210 & 212/3; IND 223 & 198. Keegan Petersen scored 72 in the 1st innings and 82 in South Africa's 2nd-innings chase (Player of the Match). Jasprit Bumrah took 5/42 in South Africa's 1st innings. Rishabh Pant scored an unbeaten 100 in India's 2nd innings — a counter-attacking century in a losing cause that was widely praised. Jansen took 4/36 in India's 2nd innings. South Africa's 2nd innings chase of 212 was sealed 7 wickets down.

Thakur 7/61 at Johannesburg: India's Best-Ever Innings Figures vs South Africa

Shardul Thakur's 7/61 in South Africa's 1st innings at the Wanderers — delivered with consistent seam movement on the Johannesburg surface — was the best innings bowling performance by an India bowler against South Africa in all Tests, surpassing previous marks by Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan from earlier generations. Despite Thakur's 7/61 reducing South Africa to 229 and giving India a narrow first-innings deficit of 27, India's 2nd innings of 266 set South Africa only 240 to chase. Elgar's unbeaten 96 — accumulated across a rain-affected final day with South Africa at times requiring calculated patience before accelerating in the final session — was the match-winning innings. South Africa won the Johannesburg Test by 7 wickets, levelling the series 1-1.

India's Eight Tours of South Africa: Still No Series Win

The 2021-22 series was India's eighth Test series in South Africa — a record of seven previous tours without a series win, now extended to eight. India's 1-0 lead after the Centurion Test (their first-ever win at SuperSport Park) raised hopes of finally winning a series in South Africa, but defeats in Johannesburg and Cape Town meant the pattern continued. Petersen's consistency across the three Tests (including 72 and 82 in the Cape Town decider) was the decisive individual factor in South Africa's two wins. Bumrah's 5/42 in Cape Town's 1st innings and Pant's 100* in India's 2nd innings were individual highlights in a match India ultimately lost by 7 wickets. Jansen's emergence across the series — taking wickets in multiple matches in the second and third Tests — showed South Africa had a new pace-bowling asset at the start of what became a productive Test career.