Why South Africa lost the ODI series against India

#3 Overall Team Performance

India looked like a team

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people”

The team performance from South Africa in the ODI series was very disappointing. They never looked like a team and failed to stitch partnerships anywhere in the batting order.

Inexperienced middle-order and lack of responsibility from senior players

Their middle order was inexperienced and with no AB and Du Plessis, the new generation of South African players looked unprepared to face the challenges thrown by Indian bowlers.

Most importantly, they failed to read the Indian wrist spinners Chahal and Yadav, who combined to fetch 33 wickets in the series. Loose shots from experienced players like Amla, Duminy, Miller, and Morris cost them as well.

Inefficient bowling attack

A bowling attack which won their team the Test series looked inefficient in the ODI series. They never looked lethal enough in their approach and were inconsistent with their line and length throughout the series, unlike the Test series.

One of the major reasons for their failure was the chopping and changing of bowling unit after every match. One such example of this is the inclusion of Shamsi over Tahir in the fifth ODI despite the fact that India had more right-handers in their line-up.