When Tendulkar and Azharuddin brutalised South Africa bowlers with memorable 222-run partnership at Cape Town

Sachin Tendulkar’s first full series as captain, against South Africa in 1996, had generated much interest. India were travelling with a largely young and inexperienced but hugely talented middle-order group that included Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, but the onus was on the new skipper and his predecessor, Mohammad Azharuddin, to lead the way.

Old and young alike came a cropper in the first of three Tests in Durban as India were blown away on a pacy surface. Across two innings, India managed only 100 and 66 to go down by 328 runs. India’s excellent new-ball attack of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad picked up 15 wickets between them, but there was no worthwhile pace support otherwise, and once the batters were taken apart by the Allan Donald-led bowling unit, there was nowhere to hide for Tendulkar and his men.

It was against this backdrop that the sides travelled to Cape Town for the second of three Tests, at Newlands. Srinath and Prasad toiled manfully but the lack of bite otherwise reflected in South Africa’s first-innings tally of 529 for seven declared, with centuries from Gary Kirsten, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener. Once again, the South African pacers got down to business and early on day three, India were gasping at 58 for five when Azhar walked in to join a miserable Tendulkar in the middle.

Azhar had every shot in the book and more, though motivated whispers pegged him as someone who didn’t fancy short-pitched bowling. Statistics suggest otherwise – unlike many celebrated batters, especially from the Mumbai stables, he has Test hundreds in Australia and South Africa, and mastered tricky conditions in England and New Zealand with multiple tons, apart from unleashing 109 against Pakistan in Faisalabad against an attack that included Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Salim Jaffer, among others.

Tendulkar, of course, had already established himself as the pre-eminent batter of his generation, decimating the best bowlers in the world with singular nonchalance. It was up to this experienced duo to steady the ship; in the press box and the well populated stands, the belief that the two would knuckle down and bat out time was the most prevalent theme, but the two virtuosos had other ideas.

At lunch on the middle day of the Test, Nelson Mandela, the iconic South African President, touched down in a helicopter and was introduced to the two teams. He stayed back to watch the action thereafter and was treated to the most mesmeric passage of play with Tendulkar and Azhar brutalising Donald, Shaun Pollock, Klusener, McMillan and Paul Adams. In the first hour after lunch alone, more than 100 runs flowed unchecked; Tendulkar and Azhar matched each other stroke for stroke adopting contrasting methods. The former was completely in control, minimalistic in his movements, playing close to the body, rising on his toes to get on top of the bounce and using his top hand as the guiding force. Azhar, on the other hand, was a force of nature, all flourish and wrist and placement as he went after the bowling with scarcely concealed disdain. It was electric stuff, seasoned scribes and rookies alike watching open-mouthed in astonishment.

South Africa’s haplessness was exemplified by the fields Hansie Cronje was forced to employ once the partnership mounted in proportion. As the ball kept its repeated tryst with the boundary boards, the field spread out but to no avail; fours cascaded with stunning regularity with both batters bringing up their hundreds to generous ovation from an audience that was grateful for the magic that had unfolded before its eyes, even if it was at the expense of its own heroes.

The partnership ended at 222 in the only way it could have – Azhar was run out – and it needed a spectacular catch from Adam Bacher at the deep mid-wicket fence to dismissal Tendulkar, last man out, for a truly special 169. Those who witnessed that day’s action still talk of it with hushed reverence, as if afraid that speaking loudly would be an insult to the quality of batsmanship seldom seen in tandem in Test cricket.

India were still well beaten, by 282 runs, but even for the South African fans, the result didn’t seem to matter that much, so entranced were they by the Tendulkar-Azhar show. It was beautifully brutal, an unfettered expression of freedom and skill that returned some of the respect the Indian batting had lost after the double meltdowns in Durban.

Brief scores: South Africa: 529/7 decl. in 162.5 overs (Gay Kirsten 103, Adam Bacher 25, Daryll Cullinan 77, Hansie Cronje 41, Brian McMillan 103 n.o., Dave Richardson 39, Lance Klusener 102 n.o.; Javagal Srinath 3-130, Venkatesh Prasad 3-114) and 256/6 decl. in 72 overs (Andrew Hudson 55, Daryll Cullinan 55, Brian McMillan 59 n.o., Shaun Pollock 40 n.o.; Javagal Srinath 3-78, Anil Kumble 2-58) beat India: 359 all out in 92.2 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 169, Mohammad Azharuddin 115; Allan Donald 2-99, Shaun Pollock 2-76, Paul Adams 2-49) and 144 all out in 66.2 overs (Sourav Ganguly 30, VVS Laxman 35 n.o.; Allan Donald 3-40, Shaun Pollock 2-29, Paul Adams 3-45) by 282 runs. Player of the Match: Brian McMillan.