3 big positives for Team India from their 3-1 series win over South Africa ft. Tilak Varma & Sanju Samson
Team India recorded their 24th win in 26 T20Is in 2024 on Friday, November 15. The Men in Blue thrashed South Africa by 135 runs at the Wanderers in Johannesburg to complete a 3-1 series victory.
After winning the toss and batting first, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. pulverized the South African bowling to amass 283/1, which was by far the highest total at the venue. The Proteas were never really in the hunt, just like in the series opener in Durban.
India are in an excellent run of form in the shortest format at the moment, with Suryakumar's leadership proving imperative to the team's success. They will have plenty of takeaways from their excellent performance in the Rainbow Nation.
On that note, here are the three big positives for India from their 3-1 series win over South Africa.
#3 India's two-man spin tandem worked wonders
Throughout the four-match T20I series against South Africa, India fielded both Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi. The two spinners did extremely well through the middle overs, carrying on from where they left off in the previous series against Bangladesh.
That was an excellent sign for India, who were without Kuldeep Yadav. Having two world-class spinners who are hard to read from the hand and quick through the air is a luxury for any team, particularly with the next edition of the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
#2 Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma's twin tons may have solved many issues for the Men in Blue
![Tilak and Samson notched up two tons each [Image: BCCI on X]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/267d0-17317002190066-1920.jpg)
Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson finished the series with two tons each, giving a glimpse into what India's ideal batting order in the post Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era could look like. The two dynamic batters grabbed their opportunities with both hands, striking both pace and spin at a scary rate across phases.
While Samson was severe on anything in the powerplay, Tilak took barely any time to get going and accelerated brilliantly in the middle overs. Scoring big runs isn't easy, given their high-risk approach, but the duo did just that at various stages of the series.
Once the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal return, India will have an entirely fearsome batting unit.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav's leadership has stood out on and off the field
One of the reasons behind Tilak's success was captain Suryakumar's decision to give him the No. 3 role upon his request. It was a selfless call from the skipper, whose own form has been slightly underwhelming over the course of the ongoing calendar year.
Even apart from that, Suryakumar's leadership has been impressive. The Indian captain has made smart bowling changes at all stages of the innings and doesn't seem to get the basics wrong very often. His calmness also seems to rub off on the team's players.
With India needing someone to take over from Rohit, Suryakumar has, so far, stepped into the role seamlessly.