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.