5 Talking Points from India South Africa 5th ODI: South Africa's 3D attack, India's lone warrior and the birth of a star

South Africa won the final match and the one-day international series by 214 runs against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This is India’s first series loss at home since 2012.

With the series locked at 2-2, the two teams played with everything on the line in the 5^th ODI, but one team turned out to be the better on the day – by quite a big margin.

Here are the moments which decided the outcome of the match and invited most opinions from fans:

#1 South Africa's 3 D's devastate India

 Faf du Plessis played a long innings, but was incapacitated by battling cramps in the Mumbai heat

The South African batting innings was a nightmare unfolding for the Indian team – even the out-of-form Hashim Amla managed a 13-ball 23.

Quinton de Kock (109 off 87), Faf du Plessis (133 off 115) and AB de Villiers (119 off 61) ran against with the Indian bowlers, bringing up the 4th highest recorded total in ODI cricket – 438/4. This is only the second time in ODI cricket history that there have been three centurions in a single innings.

De Kock continued his India-bashing form, evoking nightmares of the 1990s when Saeed Anwar and Sanath Jayasuriya seemed to take special pleasure in destroying Indian bowling attacks. De Kock has scored 5 centuries in 9 ODIs against India, only managing 3 in 43 ODIs against all other teams combined.

Du Plessis seemed to clear the boundary ropes at will, but had to retire hurt after losing a battle with cramps.
AB de Villiers continued to inflict misery on Indian bowlers, racing to a typically devastating century. When he was dismissed in the 47th over, his team had already inched towards 400, and the Indian team were in a state of shock at what had just overtaken them.

There were 229 runs added in the last 20 overs – the greatest run fest seen in this series, and one of the most entertaining ever.

#2 Most expensive Indian bowling

 Bhuvneshwar Kumar will mark Sunday’s final as a day of disgrace

 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has a day to mark as a black day in his calendar after having registered figures of 1/106 in his 10 overs on Sunday – the worst ODI figures ever by an Indian and only the 2^nd worst in the format’s history.

He was, however, recorded to have bowled at speeds above 140 kph – a clear indication that he should sacrifice his speed for his previously existing strength, swing bowling.

Mohit Sharma was massacred as well, going for 84 runs in only 7 overs.

Embarrassingly for India’s frontline bowlers, the best figures of the day belonged to Suresh Raina (1/19 in 3 overs). Harbhajan Singh, who maintained a tight line and length, was the only bowler who the batsmen found it hard to score off – also going for 70 runs in his 10 overs.

#3 India's main hopes gift wickets cheaply

 

 Rohit Sharma would have been looking to score big in his first ODI in his hometown

 

After the massive first innings total posted by South Africa, and on the proof of the speed of the outfield seen in the first innings, there were many who hoped that the second innings would be a chase of a tour-de-force nature. The fact that South Africa were missing Morne Morkel and JP Duminy was also reason to be optimistic for the Indian fan.

Rohit Sharma, playing his first ODI in his hometown, was backed by many to come up with a special knock at the top of the order. On proof of the two boundaries he hit in the first over, the chase was on.
However, only in the fifth over, Sharma tried an upper cut which came down to land in the grateful Imran Tahir’s pouched hands – gone for 16.

Virat Kohli, coming in to bat on the back of a sparkling run of form in the last couple of matches, was the other hope India had in playing a lead role in the chase. He hit one massive six, lighting up the whole of the Wankhede and the rest of the nation.

However, he reached out for a wide ball by Kagiso Rabada, got a nick, and De Kock went flying to take a one-handed blinder. Kohli was gone for 7, India were 44/2 in the 8^th over with their two most impactful batsmen back in the pavilion.

The game was all but over.

#4 The unlikely leader of India's charge

 Ajinkya Rahane was responsible for the reviving of many Indian hopes

 

Cricket is called a funny game not without reason, and the most exciting part of the India chase came after their main hopes had departed. Ajinkya Rahane, who had been dropped a few months ago for not being aggressive enough, was the unlikely hero of India’s counter-attack, hitting three sixes and nine fours in his 58-ball 87.

Rahane, playing his shots from the word go, built a 112-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan, a duration during which it did seem as if a tight chase would be had.

The biggest positive for India in this series has been, without doubt, the aggressive batting of Rahane. He has been hidden in the lower order by the India team in recent times, but with the way he led the attack fearlessly on Sunday, it is reasonable to assert that India have uncovered a capable middle order batsman in ODIs.
This series could be for Rahane what the 1999 series against New Zealand had been for Dravid – the explosion of his ODI potential.

#5 Birth of a new bowling star - Kagiso Rabada

 

 Kagiso Rabada finished with 4 wickets in the match, 10 wickets in the series

 

The greatest find of the India-South Africa series, and perhaps of 2015, has been the bowling of 20-year-old Kagiso Rabada. He has bowled at great pace throughout the series, often touching 150 kph, picking up 10 wickets in a series which has been largely dominated by spinners and batsmen.

Even on the Wankhede track, when Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled to find the right line and length, Rabada was on the mark with almost every ball. He got the crucial wicket of Kohli, got Dhawan to sky one, bowled Raina around his legs, and capped off a great series by dismissing Amit Mishra, India’s 10^th wicket.

Rabada registered figures of 4/41.

AB de Villiers has been South Africa’s shining star with the bat – 3 centuries, average of 89.5 and strike rate of 135 – but without Rabada’s heroics with the ball has been instrumental in their dominance over India.


Source:sportskeeda.com

loading...