India won the first Test by 113 runs,[5] to win their first-ever Test match atCenturion Park.[6] It was alsoQuinton de Kock's final Test match, after he announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect following the conclusion of the match.[7] South Africa won the second Test by seven wickets to level the series.[8] It was the first time that South Africa had beaten India in a Test match at theWanderers Stadium.[9] South Africa won the third and final Test, also by seven wickets, to win the series 2–1.[10] The day after the end of the third match,Virat Kohli announced that he had stepped down as India's captain in Test cricket.[11]
South Africa won the first ODI match by 31 runs, with an unbeaten century byRassie van der Dussen.[12] South Africa won the second ODI by seven wickets to win the series with a match to spare.[13] South Africa won the final ODI by four runs, winning the series 3–0.[14]
In November 2021,Cricket South Africa confirmed that due to restrictions inJohannesburg, the third Test had been moved from theWanderers Stadium to theNewlands Cricket Ground.[15] Due to anew variant ofCOVID-19 detected in Southern Africa, aBoard of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official stated that it would re-evaluating whether the series will be held once they "get a detailed picture of the ground situation from Cricket South Africa."[16] On 2 December 2021, India's Test captainVirat Kohli said that the team would have "absolute clarity" regarding the tour in "a day or two or pretty soon".[17] On 4 December 2021, both boards agreed to a new tour schedule,[18] starting slightly later than originally planned.[19] On 6 December 2021, the new tour schedule was confirmed.[20] The tour was also scheduled to include fourTwenty20 International[21] (T20I) matches, but these were postponed,[22] with Cricket South Africa saying these would be "rescheduled for a more opportune time".[23] On 20 December 2021, both cricket boards agreed to play the tourbehind closed doors, following an increase in COVID-19 cases.[24]
In December 2021, it was announced that South Africa'sQuinton de Kock would miss at least the third Test of the tour due to him taking paternity leave.[29]Anrich Nortje was ruled out of South Africa's squad for the Test series due to a hip injury.[30] On 30 December 2021, Quinton de Kock announced his retirement fromTest cricket with immediate effect, ruling him out of the second and third Tests.[31] On 2 January 2022, Cricket South Africa announced a 17-member squad for the ODI series,[32] withMarco Jansen receiving his maiden ODI call-up.[33]Kagiso Rabada was released from South Africa's ODI squad to manage his workload, withGeorge Linde being retained from their Test squad for the ODI series.[34]
India also namedNavdeep Saini,Saurabh Kumar,Deepak Chahar andArzan Nagwaswalla as standby players in their Test squad.[35]Rohit Sharma was ruled out of India's squad for the Test matches due to an injury,[36] withPriyank Panchal named as his replacement.[37] On 18 December 2021,KL Rahul was named as the vice-captain of India's Test squad for the series, replacing Rohit Sharma.[38] Ahead of the tour, Rohit Sharma was named as the captain of India's ODI squad, replacingVirat Kohli.[39] On 31 December 2021, India's ODI squad was announced with Rohit Sharma ruled out of the series. KL Rahul was named as the ODI captain for the series.[40] Ahead of the ODI series,Washington Sundar was ruled out of India's squad following a positive test for COVID-19, withJayant Yadav named as his replacement.[41]Navdeep Saini was also added to India's ODI squad, as cover forMohammed Siraj.[42]
Note: during the isolation of South Africa from international cricket between 1970 and 1991, there were seven unofficial tours (italicised below) by various teams, collectively known as theSouth African rebel tours.
