5 players who proved their critics wrong in the India-SA series

Dhoni gave a thumping reply to his critics with batIt had been one humdinger of an ODI series between India and South Africa until the Proteas stamped their authority in the final ODI by a massive victory of 214 runs. However, during the first 4 matches, it was nothing short of a warzone out in the middle with players from both sides battling it out to help their respective teams taste success.A remarkable aspect of this series turned out to be the way in which certain players from both sides sent strong performance-based messages to their critics. Let’s take a look at 5 such players.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane has 2 half centuries in the ongoing India-South Africa ODI series

Despite being one of the most consistent batsmen for Team India over at least the past couple of years, Ajinkya Rahane has still not been able to call himself a regular in the ODI team.

It has been a funny kind of situation for the Mumbai batsman; while on one hand he has not been getting a game every now and then, on the other he was made the captain of the team on a Zimbabwe tour during which most senior players sat out.

Meanwhile, regular captain MS Dhoni has been regularly harping about the fact that Rahane lacks in an important aspect of ODI batting - rotating the strike. And this has been one of the reasons why the skipper is always unsure about which position needs to be given to him.

The dilemma over Rahane’s batting position continued even in the recently concluded series against South Africa, where he batted at numbers 3, 4 and 6. However, as far as criticism about strike rotation is concerned, the talented young batsman has silenced his critics at least for now.

This series saw him look far more busier in the middle right from the outset and he built some vital partnerships in the middle order; when the situation demanded, he also played the big shots. Although he did not get a century, he has scored an 80, a couple of 50s and a 40 as well.

His 149-run partnership with Rohit Sharma in the 1st ODI kept the Indian chase of 304 very much alive. The 51 that he scored in the 2nd ODI was also crucial as it helped Team India up the ante at a crucial stage. Equally brilliant was the 104 partnership that he had with Virat Kohli helped put India in the driver’s seat after having lost two quick wickets.

In the 5th and final ODI, with India needing 439 for a series win, he brought out his IPL avatar to the crease as he smashed his way to 87 from just 58 deliveries and gave India a glimmer of hope through a 114-run stand with Shikhar Dhawan. Unfortunately for him, there was no other Indian batsman who was able to match his heroics and India lost by 214 runs.

#4 Quinton De Kock

De Kock celebrates his century in the 3rd ODI at Rajkot

At a young age of just 22, South Africa’s wicketkeeper in ODIs, Quinton De Kock has already seen a lot of highs and lows in his short career. He first created ripples in international cricket when he struck 3 back-to-back centuries at home against India in a bilateral series played in 2013, which the Proteas side won 2-0.

Since then, it has been a start-stop kind of career for the youngster who has been touted to be the next big thing in South African cricket and there have been questions raised on him being preferred over other good wicket-keepers in the country’s domestic circuit.

The form had been eluding De Kock for quite some time and this was witnessed during his failure to get big runs at the 2015 ICC World Cup. Even the Bangladesh series prior to the ongoing series against India was a struggle for him as he got out for single figure scores in 2 matches out of 3.

He was guilty of throwing away good starts in the first 2 ODIs where he got out for 29 and 34 respectively.

The 3rd ODI played in Rajkot needed De Kock to deliver the goods for his team and also keep his place intact in the process and he did it in the finest possible fashion. His score of 103 was more than crucial in helping South Africa post a total of 270 which was enough for them to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

In the final ODI played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, De Kock put to rest any speculations or questions that his critics held against him by scoring a scintilating 109 off just 87 balls and set the tempo for South Africa to get a mammoth 438 on the board. He received a very deserving Man of the Match award for his effort.

#3 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan celebrates one of his 2 scalps in the 4th ODI

The veteran off-spinner, who has done great service to the Indian cricket team in the past, has been through a lot of troubled times with the ball of late and struggled to make it to the national side for close to four years.

When he got his opportunity on the tour to Zimbabwe this year, he did put up a decent enough show to ensure a spot in the ODI squad for the South Africa series. Although Bhajji is still very popular among most Indian cricket fans and also receives continuous support from several former players, he has not been able to secure a permanent place in skipper Dhoni’s scheme of things.

As was pretty obvious, Harbhajan Singh did not make it to the playing XI for the 1st ODI at Kanpur. However, as luck would have it, first choice spinner Ravichandran Ashwin managed to injure himself during the match after bowling just 4.4 overs and was ruled out for the rest of the series.

In a forced change, the team management decided to field Harbhajan in place of Ashwin in the 2nd ODI. The offie repaid the faith shown in him with more than decent figures of 2 for 51 including the wicket of the dangerous Quinton De Kock.

In the following match where most of the other Indian bowlers were thrashed around, Bhajji recorded impressive figures of 1 for 41 off his 10 overs and helped in keeping the Proteas score down to 270 even though India finally lost by 18 runs.

But the 4th ODI played in Chennai is where Harbhajan actually gave the fittest of responses to his critics. Chasing 300 to win the South African had got off to a flier of sorts thanks to some fluent batting by opener De Kock. MSD brought Bhajji into the attack in the 10th over and straightaway there was the turn and bounce that he was so well known for.

In his very next over, he claimed De Kock for 43 with a ripper which bounced and turned away sharply, took the edge of the bat and carried to the slips where Rahane took a great catch.

Harbhajan’s next victim was David Miller who was caught in front of the stumps to one which pitched and straightened. He did not get any further wickets, but that initial burst from India’s most successful off-spinner really turned the tide in favour of India.

It did turn out to be a bit of an anti-climax for him in the final ODI as he conceded as many as 70 runs in his quota of 10 overs. To be fair to him though, he did have the best economy rate among all the regular bowlers.

#2 Virat Kohli

Kohli is pumped after getting his 23rd ODI ton

When it comes to proving critics wrong, there is hardly anyone in world cricket who can do it better than Team India’s ace batsman, Virat Kohli. And he ensures that he makes it very visible to everyone.

One must, however, consider the fact that there were concrete reasons why the star player was drawing flak from all corners. Since his century against arch-rivals Pakistan in the much-hyped World Cup encounter, Kohli has not done much of note with the bat in ODI cricket. His highest score in the 12 innings that followed his memorable ton was just 46.

The ongoing series against South Africa also started on a poor note for the Delhi batsman with him registering scores of 11 and 12 in the first two One-Day International matches. In the 3rd ODI, India needed 271 to beat South Africa and considering their strong batting line-up, they were favourites to win with consummate ease.

The onus was on Kohli to take India home, but despite forging some useful partnerships with opener Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, he failed to help the team in crossing the line. The most shocking aspect of Kohli’s 77-run inning was his strike rate which stood at 77.77 when he eventually perished to a Morne Morkel delivery.

Come the 4th ODI of the series and the pressure had increased on Kohli to produce an innings of substance. India were in trouble at 35 for 2 as both openers, Dhawan and Rohit, got out for low scores. The situation was ideal for Kohli to pull the rabbit out of the hat and conjure a magical knock and he did not disappoint.

The people who had turned up at the Chepauk that evening witnessed a Kohli special with most of his trademark shots and the kind of celebration you associate with him. His 140-ball 138 ensured India got a big total on the board which was enough for the bowlers to defend and the series remained alive until the decider in Mumbai, which India, unfortunately lost by a monumental margin of 214 runs.

#1 MS Dhoni

Dhoni en route to his 92* in the 2nd ODI against SA

Team India’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni registered the mother of all comebacks in a staggering one-man show which helped India register their first triumph in the ongoing series against South Africa after being down 0-1. India’s narrow loss in the opening game at Kanpur by a margin of 5 runs brought in a lot of criticism for the team, particularly for captain Dhoni.

The main agenda for the critics was centered around the skipper’s failure to lead the team to victory in a situation which was tailor-made for a renowned finisher like him. With just 11 runs required off the last over and an inexperienced Kagiso Rabada bowling at him, everyone expected MSD to seal victory in his iconic manner, but he got out on the fourth ball of the over with 7 still needed for a win.

As expected, there were calls for him being scrapped as captain of the ODI team; many even questioned his match-winning abilities which have been his forte over the years.

Just three days later, the two teams met again at Indore for the 2nd ODI in the 5-match series. After Dhoni winning the toss and electing to bat, the hosts were in more than a spot of bother at 82 for 3 when captain cool came in to bat.

Soon enough, his partner at the other end, Rahane, too fell after scoring 51 and Raina followed suit without troubling the scorers. The score was 104 for 5 and MS had not even got his eyes in.

He started off the repair job by stringing small yet crucial partnerships of 20 and 41 with spinner Axar Patel and seamer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar respectively. Later he was joined by the swashbuckling Harbhajan and it was their 56-run partnership off just 7 overs which propelled the Indian score.

When Bhajji and Umesh Yadav fell in the same Steyn over, it was left to ‘the Finisher’ to do what he does best and he took India to a fighting 247 finishing off with a towering six and 92 not out against his name.

Even when India bowled, his captaincy was top notch, especially in the way he used his spinners to allow the team to claw back into the game and end up levelling the series at 1-1. It was vintage Dhoni from start to finish and he deservingly received the Man of the Match.

However, it was a pity that he could not help India win the series as there was too much left to do by the time he walked in to bat during India’s chase of 439 in the final ODI.