The rivalry between India and South Africa has dished out several memorable moments in international cricket. The 2006 Test win, Allan Donald's thunderbolts in 1996, Sourav Ganguly's return to the national team and Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test ton come to mind. However, one moment that promises to remain etched in the minds of Indian cricket fans, probably the funniest of the lot, is S Sreesanth's six off the bowling of Andre Nel during the Johannesburg Test in 2006.
On Day 3 of the Test match, Nel charged at Sreesanth and tried to get under his skin. The former India pacer responded in style, smoking a six off the next ball and breaking into a wild celebration much to the amusement of the on-lookers. While Sreesanth's tussle made everyone laugh, turns out it was serious matter after all, with the former India pacer revealing what the South Africa quick had said to him.
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"A lot of people are not aware of what he said, but he said a lot of things to me. In the first innings, I had picked up five wickets, and when Andre Nel walked out, he hit for a six. He was literally on me. It started when he was batting. When I walked out to bat in the second innings, he started saying to me 'you are not good enough' just to mentally trouble me," Sreesanth told SportsKeeda.
Sreesanth's 5/40 had rattled South Africa in the first innings, which saw the home team getting skittled for 84. As it turned out, it wasn't the last memorable moment for Sreesanth in the match. Sreesanth claimed three more in the second innings as India registered their maiden Test win in South Africa.
{{/usCountry}}Sreesanth's 5/40 had rattled South Africa in the first innings, which saw the home team getting skittled for 84. As it turned out, it wasn't the last memorable moment for Sreesanth in the match. Sreesanth claimed three more in the second innings as India registered their maiden Test win in South Africa.
{{/usCountry}}"He came up to me and said 'you don't have a heart; you are not good enough and some bad words too'. So when I hit him for six, and everyone called it a dance. I would want to clarity that it wasn't a dance; it was a horse-riding celebration. I did what I felt was right at the same time. It was more like what Sourav dada had done at the 2002 Natwest Trophy," recalled Sreesanth.