The relevance of the digit '3' in the India-South Africa ODI Series

South Africa edged out India 3-2 in the 5-match ODI seriesThe first edition of the Nelson Mandela-Mahatma Gandhi Series between India and South Africa has been a big success so far but as far as the Indian cricket lovers are concerned, this series has disappointed them.South Africa emerged victorious 2-0 in the T20 series and though the Indian’s quickly prepared their minds to take revenge in the ODI Series they ended up on the losing side once again after South Africa produced a mind blowing performance on the field in the 5th ODI and went on to win the match by a huge margin of 214 runs and also win the series 3-2.This crushing defeat is hard to digest for the Indians, but the credit goes to the brilliance of the South Africans both on and off the field. There are many talking points and take ways from this series. As part of this slideshow, let us have a look at 5 things that made the number ‘3’ significant in this series!

#5 Matches won by South Africa

Well begun is half done

This is pretty straight to start with. South Africa won the series 3-2 which reflects that the team has won 3 matches out of 5. The interesting part here was that South Africa did not consecutively win any two matches. They won the 1st, 3rd and 5th ODIs. This is what made things interesting in this series. Had it not been this way, the fans wouldn’t have savoured it the way they have done now.

Before the game at the Wankhede on Sunday, the series was level at 2-2 and the game became very crucial for both teams. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was the South Africans who rose to the occasion and capitalized on the mistakes of the Indians and attained glory.

#4 Centuries by AB De Villiers

AB de Villiers – The superman from South Africa

Talk about game-changing knocks and you would most probably have De Villiers name on the list every single time. He pitched in with some great contributions and scored big on most occasions he batted in the series. He scored a total of 3 tons in this series. He scored 104*(73) in the 1st ODI, 112(107) in the 4th ODI and 119(61) in the 5th and final ODI.

As was the case with all his previous 20 ODI centuries, AB’s strike rate was above 100 during the three century knocks. It was already a known fact that this man has got the potential to score big on any ground against any bowling line-up. Once again, he proved his mettle and helped South Africa secure a series win against India in India.

#3 Tons in the 5th ODI

De Villiers, Du Plessis and De Kock all scored centuries in the 5^th ODI at Mumbai

In the 5th ODI at Wankhade, South Africa posted a mammoth total of 438/4 in 50 Overs with three of their batsman scoring huge tons – Quinton de Kock 109(87), Faf du Plessis 133(115) and AB de Villiers 119(61). Each of the three recorded a strike rate above 115.

Big scores are no surprise in ODIs now-a-days but such a valiant effort involving almost everyone who batted was pretty impressive and they were well backed by their bowling attack as South Africa registered a win by a huge margin.

#2 Tosses won by South Africa

Tosses win matches

It is widely known that catches win matches in cricket. But off late, it seems like tosses win matches as well! Toss has never been so crucial before as the results of the matches in this series were solely dependent on the toss. The team that won the toss batted first and on all occasions, the team that batted first won the games.

South Africa won the series 3-2. By what I have spoken before, you could ask me did South Africa win the toss thrice? A big yes! The Proteas won the toss on 3 occasions in this series. They won it in the 1st, the 3rd and the 5th ODIs. They chose to bat first and they won all these games.

#1 Runs scored by Raina in the first 3 ODIs

Suresh Raina was arguably the biggest flop of the series

One name that Indian fans and critics are targeting now is that of Suresh Raina. To say Raina flopped in the series would be an understatement. Raina got chances to prove himself, but he failed to capitalize on all occasions, except during the 4^th ODI.

The total runs scored by him in the first three ODIs were 3. Shocked? You got to believe that. His respective scores in the first three ODIs in that order were 3(3), 0(5) and 0(2). Pathetic, isn’t it? He reached double digits in the last two games but even then, in the overall context, he failed to make an impact in this series.