Did India lose the ODI series in the spin battle?
After a dramatic turnaround that saw South Africa beat India 2-1 in the Test series earlier this year, the hosts cruised to an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI rubber. Under new ODI deputy KL Rahul, the visitors put in another below-par performance to finish second best in all three departments of the game on Friday.
There were many areas where India struggled in the second ODI - both Iyers missed out with the bat, the quicks couldn't break the opening stand, and there were some missed half-chances in the field. However, one glaring issue separated the teams - the way they bowled spin and batted against it.
The last time India toured South Africa, wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal spun a web around the hosts, helping India win the series 5-1. How then did a traditional stronghold for the team over the years turn against them, that too in overseas conditions?
India's early tentativeness holds them back yet again
Aiden Markram was not expected to play a major role in this ODI series, let alone be thrown the ball within the powerplay in both games.
While there was very little turn on offer in the first match, India chose to knock the part-timer around in keeping with their tried-and-tested strategy of consolidation in ODIs. The result was telling - Markram prised out KL Rahul with one that didn't turn in the first game, and had Shikhar Dhawan slog-sweep him straight to the deep fielder in the second.
The visitors learned from the tactic and tried R Ashwin in the powerplay, with significantly less success. Although the veteran bowled a maiden to Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock took toll of him in his very next over. The Proteas' contrasting approach early on against spin saw them finish the powerplay stage with all wickets intact and go on to dominate the contest, while India faltered.
The sweep shot makes the difference
Barring a determined Rishabh Pant in the second game, who played a quintessential attacking innings to bail the team out of trouble, no Indian batter nailed the sweep shot at Boland Park. Virat Kohli offered a tame leading edge off a miscued sweep in the first game, while Dhawan was bowled attempting to cut a ball he could have swept instead.
Indian batters tend to rely on their footwork while playing spin, as compared to playing the sweep shot. However, on a slowish track where the ball didn't quite come onto the bat, the shot was a good option to rotate the strike and find the boundaries. The South African batters played the shot to excellent effect, with the likes of Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock targeting the square boundaries and successfully disrupting the plans of Ashwin and Chahal.
India's spinners miss their areas
Chahal and Ashwin have seldom played together, but have individually played enough games for the national team to know their lines and lengths. That they have two wickets between them after two matches could be attributed to some missed chances on the field but is largely down to their poor reading of the conditions on offer.
What Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj and Markram showed at Boland Park was patience - all three looked to land the ball outside off stump and let the pitch play the occasional trick to beat the bat or take the edge. Ashwin fell into the familiar trap of trying too many variations and bowled the occasional boundary ball, while Chahal resorted to a leg-stump line which scarcely troubled the opposition.
With Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel awaiting a return from injury, time is ticking for Ashwin and Chahal to make an impact with the ball.