5 reasons why the Gandhi-Mandela ODI series was the most thrilling cricket contest in India in a long time
South Africa won the five-match ODI series 3-2A month long limited-overs cricket entertainment between India and South Africa comes to an end, with the visitors clinching both the T20 and ODI series quite comfortably.Though the Indians started the ODI series with an intention to make amends for the 2-0 defeat in the T20 series, the raw talent the Proteas possessed was just too hot for the Men in Blue to handle, as the African Lions pounced on the hapless hosts, tearing them apart in the fifth ODI, claiming a huge triumph of 214 runs.The Wankhede pitch was a bit on the bouncy side, with the ball coming on to the bat quite nicely, accompanied by the least amount of turn for the spinners compared to the other wickets. And that was exactly what South Africa wished for, as after winning the toss AB de Villiers had no hesitation to bat first.Quinton de Kock’s special love for India and the Indian seamers’ bad precision in line and length made tasks much easier for the visitors, with de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada playing their parts in obliterating India in the decider.But apart from the final match, the Indians can be quite proud of the way they fought throughout the series, bouncing back at crucial junctures, even after suffering unexpected losses in the first and third ODIs.In fact, the series witnessed some of the most exciting battles of the year, with both teams fighting hard for supremacy, in the sweltering heat. Let’s have a look at the 5 reasons why the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela ODI series was the most thrilling cricket contest in India in a long time.
#1 Clash of the titans
Yes, it was the clash of the titans, as the second-ranked ODI team India locked horns with the Proteas who are just a rung below them in the ICC ODI rankings.
Obviously, India started as the favourites on the back of their scary home domination, but the experience in the IPL aided South Africa throughout the series. The crowd supported the visitors well, especially De Villiers, whose name echoed all around the stadium whenever he offered them a visual treat of high-quality batsmanship.
Both teams are inundated with the most loved and high ranked cricketers in the World. While De Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Virat Kohli occupy the top three ODI ranks respectively, Shikar Dhawan and M.S. Dhoni are the other two batsmen in the top 10 rankings.
When Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, and Ajinkya Rahane further bolstered the Indian batting line-up, the likes of Du Plessis, J.P. Duminy and David Miller made the Proteas batting order invincible.
With Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Imran Tahir in their bowling attack, the visitors had the firepower to run through any batting order, but surprisingly, the young and inexperienced Kagiso Rabada was the real leader of the pack.
Indians too had some really good bowlers in their line-up, as Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, and Akshar Patel exploited the spin-friendly conditions quite decently though they couldn’t make much of an impact in the final game.