India wins the last match to seal the series against South Africa: Player ratings for the Visitors

The Indian Cricket team took down South Africa in the three-match ODI series on the Proteas’ home soil in a stellar fashion. India won the first match by a staggering margin of 200 balls and eight wickets as Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan dismantled the South African batting line-up at Wanderers Stadium. 

However, KL Rahul‘s team suffered a throbbing loss in the second match as Tony de Zorzi guided his team to victory with a magnificent century. Nevertheless, Sanju Samson scored his maiden ODI ton as the Men in Blue won the last match by 78 runs and also sealed the series at Boland Park on Thursday. 

Hence, without further delay, let’s take a look at the report card of the Indian players for the three-match series. 

Top Order

Ruturaj Gaikwad (1/10) – After the not-so-successful T20I series, Ruturaj Gaikwad also failed to draw the attention of selectors as well as supporters in the three-match ODI series. In the first match, the Chennai Super Kings batter was dismissed by Wiaan Mulder in the fourth over. In the second match, when Gaikwad was expected to score good runs, he was sent back to the pavilion in just the first over by Nandre Burger.  

Sai Sudharshan (8/10) – Sai Sudharshan had a debut to remember as he scored his maiden half-century in his first match contributing 55 runs off 43 deliveries. In the next match, he again scored a half-century and became only the second Indian batter after Navjot Singh Sidhu to score consecutive half-centuries in two initial ODI matches. Sudharshan’s streak was broken by Beuran Hendricks in the final match of the series as he headed back to the pavilion after scoring only 10 runs. 

Rajat Patidar (4/10) – Rajat Patidar made his debut for India against South Africa in the third match as he was called into the playing XI in the place of Gaikwad. Patidar started well as he scored a couple of boundaries but failed to capitalize on the opportunity and score big runs as Nandre Burger got him bowled at the score of 22 runs.

Middle Order 

Shreyas Iyer (8/10) – Shreyas Iyer only played in the first match before he left the ODI team to join Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the test team ahead of the two-match series. However, Iyer played a magnificent innings by scoring 52 runs off 45 deliveries, smashing six fours and a six against the Proteas. The Men in Blue won the match by eight wickets and a margin of 200 balls. 

KL Rahul (6/10) – Indian captain KL Rahul took two catches of Tony de Zorzi and David Miller in the first match. Rahul scored an important 56-run knock in the second match and also created a partnership with Sudharshan after the Men in Blue lost early wickets. The skipper also failed to have a good time with the bat in the third match as he was caught off-guard by Wiaan Mulder after contributing 21 runs.

Rinku Singh (6/10) – Rinku Singh made his ODI debut for India in the second match of the series in the place of Shreyas Iyer.  Nevertheless, he failed to have a dream debut as Keshav Maharaj dismissed him early in the second ODI at a score of 17. Interestingly, he took the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen in the same match, where the Men in Blue suffered a loss by eight wickets.

In his second match, Rinku Singh played a crucial 38-run innings against the Proteas in the last few overs after Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson lost their respective wickets. Moreover, he also took the catch of Keshav Maharaj in the deep mid-wicket. 

Tilak Varma (5/10) – Tilak Varma only got to play the deliveries in the first match, where he scored a single run. In the next match, Varma got out at the score of 10 in the second match and he also bowled three overs, where he gave away 18 runs. Varma scored an important half-century (52) in the last match of the series. He also created a 116-run partnership with Sanju Samson in the middle overs. 

Sanju Samson scored a brilliant century against South Africa in the third ODI

Sanju Samson (8/10) – Getting the opportunity to bat in the second match, Samson was dismissed by Beuran Hendricks, when he only made 12 runs. After losing his wicket early in the second match, the Rajasthan Royals skipper smashed an astounding century and also built a partnership with Tilak Varma in the decider. Scoring 108 runs in 114 deliveries, Samson was also named the player of the match. 

All-rounders

Axar Patel (4/10) – After scoring seven runs off 23 deliveries, Axar Patel failed to take any wickets in the second match. In the last match, Patal was dismissed by Beuran Hendricks early. However, with the ball, he dismissed Russie Van der Dussen.

Washington Sundar (7/10) – Washington Sundar got the opportunity in the playing XI in the place of Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Sundar smashed two fours and scored 14 runs off nine deliveries. 

Nevertheless, in the bowling, he dismissed South African skipper Aiden Markram and broke his dangerous-looking partnership with Tony de Zorzi, which would have changed the whole outcome of the match. He also dismissed Wiaan Mulder and conceded only 38 runs in ten overs. 

Bowlers

Kuldeep Yadav (6/10) – Kuldeep Yadav was called late by the Indian skipper as pacers were doing their job well. Nevertheless, he still managed to dismiss Nandre Burger in his 15-ball spell. The Chinaman also failed to puzzle the likes of Hendricks and Zonzi as he conceded runs with an economy rate of six in his eight overs in the second fixture.

Arshdeep Singh took 10 wickets in the three-match ODI Series

Arshdeep Singh (10/10) – In the first batch, Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian pacer to take a fifer against the likes of South Africa (5/37). He is also only the second Indian bowler to complete a five-wicket haul against the Proteas on their home soil, after Yuzvendra Chahal. 

In the second match, Singh also scored 18 runs, when the whole batting line-up struggled to make runs. Moreover, he also took the wicket to Reeza Hendricks, conceding 28 runs in eight overs. Playing as a bowler, Singh also pushed the target by smashing a six in the last. 

With the ball, he took four wickets, he was also the man behind Tony de Zorzi’s dismissal, who scored a century in the second ODI and 81 runs in the third match. He was also named the player of the match for his stellar performance. 

Avesh Khan (7/10) – Avesh Khan complimented Arshdeep Singh from the other side by taking four wickets and leaking only 27 runs. In addition to that, three out of the eight overs he bowled were maiden. 

Khan failed to take any wickets in the second match as he leaked 43 runs in eight overs. The Rajasthan Royals fast bowler dismissed the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Beuran Hendricks in the last match, conceding 45 runs in almost eight overs. 

Mukesh Kumar (3/10) – Mukesh Kumar was unlucky in the first match as he failed to get a single wicket against the Proteas. In seven overs, he conceded 46 runs. Just like the first match, Kumar’s wait to get a wicket carried over in the second game too, conceding 46 runs in eight overs. Mukesh Kumar finally picked up a wicket in the last match of the series of David Miller. However, his economy rate was 6.2 during his nine-over spell.