MS Dhoni is not wrong in not counting the fifth ODI since his team was 'so bad' that it was never in the game after conceding 438 runs. But that doesn't serve as a hideout for a team that is so used to dominating on home soil.
The tour turned into a historic one for South Africa as the 3-2 scoreline earned them a maiden ODI series triumph in India - led emphatically by skipper AB de Villiers who scored three centuries to become the Man of the Series.
The tour turned into a historic one for South Africa as the 3-2 scoreline earned them a maiden ODI series triumph in India - led emphatically by skipper AB de Villiers who scored three centuries to become the Man of the Series.
Any team will be hushed the way De Villiers bats but India's problems got compounded as other SA batsmen faired equally well, which shows in the performance Quinton de Kock's two centuries and Faf du Plessis's three fifties and a hundred.
It also highlights the lack of bowling resources, especially a strike bowler, which Dhoni has always admitted he doesn't have. In that light, losing R Ashwin middle of the series was a body blow.
Let's see what else went wrong for India.
Raina's failure
Suresh Raina wanted to use the T20Is and ODIs as gateway to get back into the Test team, but his numbers, or the lack of it, did serious damage to India's middle order in the series. Besides a 53 in the fourth ODI, Raina's knocks read 3, 0, 0 and 12 in a format that he usually feasts upon.
The left-hander was clearly wary of the short ball that the South African pacers disguised so well to keep him guessing. It was best highlighted in his dismissal in the fifth ODI when Kagiso Rabada bowled Raina around the legs as he stayed back in his crease shuffling towards the off-stump expecting a short delivery.
Raina has for long been struggling with this shortcoming, and it once again cost India dear - this time at home.
Ashwin's injury
Of the 50 overs Dhoni would have banked the most upon, India's leading spinner R Ashwin could bowl just 4.4 before picking up a side-strain injury in the first ODI itself.
He was badly missed by India throughout the series, which even De Villiers pointed out in his media address following the series win in Mumbai on Sunday. Harbhajan, who was drafted in to the squad to make up for Ashwin's loss, bowled well but couldn't leave an impact that was expected of an in-form Ashwin, who was also the hero of India's Test series win in Sri Lanka.
Inconsistent batting
Just one innings of note from Raina (53 in fourth ODI) and Dhoni (92 in second ODI) meant that two of India's best finishes were sorted out by the South African bowling unit.
Besides two centuries by Rohit Sharma (150 in the first ODI) and Virat Kohli (138 in the fourth ODI), none of the Indian batsmen could notch up a three-figure mark, which is in stark comparison to six centuries by South Africa.
Rahane, with three half-centuries, could be considered the most consistent of Indian batsmen in the series; but he didn't often get support from the other end for India to put up a fight on a consistent basis.
Lack of strike bowler
While Steyn and Rabada bamboozled batsmen, India's bowlers once again showed that they are easy meat for any batting side unless pitches provide some assistance by way of turn or bounce. With spin kingpin Ashwin out of the series after getting injured in the first match, other bowlers struggled to contain the flow of runs.
Mohit Sharma is not impressive, Bhuvneshwar not swinging consistently, Umesh Yadav inconsistent, Mohammad Shami injured, Ishant ignored for limited-overs formats, Harbhajan well past his prime. Where are India's bowling resources?
The Indian team is certainly lacking a good strike bowler who can deliver and pick wickets, especially at the death overs.
The entire bowling attack, sans Ashwin, lacks consistency, especially in terms of death bowling. This is something which is important to sit and analyse upon.
Dhoni's handling of the bowlers in the 5th ODI can also be one of the major reasons for the humiliating series loss. As pointed out by former captain Sunil Gavaskar, Dhoni was just not flexible enough in his approach to rotate the bowlers.
The home side lost the decider by a massive 214 runs with the bowlers cutting a sorry figure facing the Proteas assault.
Bowling is a massive cause of concern for the Indian team as was exposed by the South African onslaught at Wankhede. It was evident in the T20I series as well and now the ODI series proves how ordinary the bowlers have been. The Wankhede pitch had turn and good carry but the Indian bowlers did not bowl accordingly. The fast bowlers were constantly pitching it short but not at express pace, causing no trouble to South African batsmen.
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is one of those rare breed of players who make people fall in love with them, make people admire their abilities and leave a nostalgia.
De Villiers has been phenomenal in this series to say the least. The Superman from South Africa, the owner of the record for the fastest hundred in the format, needs no invitation to launch into the bowlers with the stage set perfectly for his pyrotechnics. He has been phenomenal to say the least.
De Villiers struck his third century of the series in the 5th ODI - his 23rd in this format. He now holds an incredible record of being the first captain to score three hundreds in an ODI series.
The Proteas skipper has an outstanding record on Indian soil. To put his record into perspective, De Villiers is averaging 70.31 in ODIs in India - his tally being 1125 in 20 innings, including seven hundreds and three fifties. He is the only batsman to have averaged 70-plus in ODIs in India.
At the end of this bilateral series, De Villiers’ record makes for incredible reading — he averages 54.21 at a strike rate of 100.28.
If he maintains this record for the rest of his career, he will become the only player in history to have managed such a feat, as no other player has ever finished with such stats to their name.
Rabada Surprise
Kagiso Rabada can be termed as South Africa's biggest find of this series. While Dale Steyn topped the bowling charts with 10 wickets, impressive young fast bowler Rabada also picked up 10 and looked far more dangerous that his senior partner. He matched Steyn in pace and aggression, never getting overawed by India's stroke-making batsmen.
The 20-year-old fast bowler, seen by many as the future of South Africa's fast bowling lot, banishes the thought that South Africa are over-reliant on Steyn.
0 comments:
Post a Comment