SA vs IND: Combined best XI of the ODI series

India’s first overseas tour after the change of head coach along with the rest of the support staff comprised three Tests and as many ODIs against South Africa. The last time when India toured here was in 2017/18, they lost the Test series but dominated in the ODIs. The Test series started on Boxing Day 2021, and after the loss of the series, India was keen to win the One Day International trophy. As the new permanent limited-overs skipper Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series due to an injury, his deputy KL Rahul captained the side. When India played ODIs here the previous time, they dominated the Proteas by conquering the series 5-1. However this time around, things went awry for the visitors and were whitewashed by the South African side. There are some players who performed well in the ODI series and let us take a look at the Best XI from both the teams in the series. Best XI from SA vs IND ODI Series 1. Quinton De Kock (WK) Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images) Quinton De Kock, the South African wicket-keeper, was the star performer of the series and also won the Player of the Series award. His work behind the stumps was also much appreciated as he dismissed the batters with swift stumpings. He came into the ODI squad after his shock retirement in Test cricket. After getting out for just 27 runs in the first match, he went on to score 78 in the second match. With this confidence, he hit his 17 ODI century smashing 124 runs off 130 deliveries powering South Africa to 287 batting first. De Kock would not get a better start to this year. He ended as the highest run-getter of the series with 229 runs in three matches with an average and strike rate of 76.33 and 96.62 respectively. He also won two Player of the Match awards in the last two games. 2. Shikhar Dhawan Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images) The highest run-getter from the Indian contingent in the three-match ODI series was Shikhar Dhawan. Having last played in the Indian jersey in July 2021, he made a comeback into the side in this series. Dhawan never looked rusty and contributed to the team as he has been doing consistently over the years. In the first match, after being put to chase the par score of 296, he started off the innings with beautiful shots. The southpaw was in a great flow until he was castled by Keshav Maharaj for 79 runs off 84 deliveries. In the second match, he got out after getting a steady 29 and in the third ODI, he scored his 35th fifty before being dismissed for 61 runs from 73 balls. He was the best batter from the Indian side. 3. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Virat Kohli, arguably the greatest batter of this era who is considered to be out of form (as he has not added a century to his career in the last two years) was again the consistent performer of India with two fifty-plus scores in three ODI innings. He has set his standards so high that a score other than a century from his bat is considered to be as he is not in his best touch. In the first match, he got out for 51 runs in 63 balls and for a duck in the second match. In the third match, amidst the falling wickets, he made a calm 65 off 84 deliveries and celebrated his fifty by dedicating it to his daughter. But unfortunately, he was dismissed and the team lost again, but he was the highest run-getter of the team in the game. 4. Temba Bavuma (C) Temba Bavuma. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) There are two types of captains in International cricket. One – they perform well with the added responsibility of captaincy and two – those players who feel the captaincy as a burden and fail to concentrate on their individual performances. Here, Temba Bavuma the South African limited-overs captain is of type One. Right since he took over the captaincy, his and team’s performances has raised a notch higher. He was already in great touch in the Test series. Bavuma continued his good form in the ODIs too and hit his second century in the first match of the series. Right after the fall of the first three wickets in just 68 runs, he stayed in the crease anchoring the innings calmly, and got out for 110 off 143 balls. In the remaining two ODIs he was dismissed for 35 and 8 runs, but he was amazing with his bowling changes and captaincy traits. 5. Rassie Van Der Dussen Rassie van der Dussen. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images) One of the main batters in the rebuilding phase of the South African batting line-up is Rassie Van Der Dussen. He is currently aged 32 and made his debut only in the year 2019 and has been a consistent middle-order batter in all formats of the game. The first match of the series was just his second ODI appearance against India and definitely, it wasn’t easy to tackle a bowling attack of such a team. But, Rassie dominated the Indian bowlers extremely well. In the first ODI, he recorded his highest score of 129* off just 96 deliveries and guided the team to a decent total. In the second match also, he remained unbeaten on 37 helping in the side in a tall chase, and in the third match, he was dismissed after scoring his tenth ODI fifty. He has started this year with an unbelievable average of 218.00 and would hope to continue this form throughout the year. 6. Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) This was the first time Rishabh Pant played ODIs against the Proteas in their den. His fearless batting has earned him a spot in India’s playing XI. But his form remained on and off throughout the tour. After scoring a ton in the final Test, he was expected to dominate in the ODIs. In the first ODI, Pant got out for 16 runs and he came back with a brilliant 85 off just 71 deliveries in the second match. The way he dominated the No.1 T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi in the second match was a treat to the eyes. With this score, he became the Indian wicket-keeper to score the highest runs in South Africa. He also had a good time behind the stumps with a few dismissals. Unfortunately in the third match, he got out for a duck, but his record-breaking innings in the second match would give him the confidence to move ahead this year. 7. Andile Phehlukwayo David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Andile Phehlukwayo is a bowling all-rounder of the Proteas team. He is a left-handed lower order batter and bowls right-arm-fast-medium. He currently plays only in the limited-overs format. This 25-year-old player made his debut at a very young age of 19 in 2016 and has already played 71 games and there is a lot to come from him in the future. In this series, he was the highest wicket-taker with six wickets after bowling just 20 overs in the three matches. He has an amazing average and bowling economy of 18.33 and 5.50 respectively. Andile took crucial wickets of in-form Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant twice each. 8. Shardul Thakur Shardul Thakur. (Photo Source: BCCI) The player who impressed everyone with his skill set again on this tour was Shardul Thakur. This was definitely a tour to remember for him. After registering his best bowling figures of 7/61 in Tests, he was backed to perform the same way in the ODIs. But in ODIs more than his bowling, he expressed his capabilities with the bat. Shardul was the only hope in chasing the target of 296 amidst the falling wickets in the first match. He tried his maximum to win the match but his 50* off 43 balls went in vain and he was also the savior in the second match as he scored 40* off 38 and guided the team to a decent total. He was disappointing with the ball though picking up only a solitary wicket. However, his stint with the bat is definitely an appreciable one as he batted brilliantly in the place where the regular batters struggled to withstand the South African bowling. 9. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo Source: Twitter) Jasprit Bumrah, since his debut in 2016, has been carrying the responsibilities of leading the Indian bowling attack. He has been troubling the batters all around the world constantly. Amongst the other bowlers who struggled to pick wickets in the South African conditions, Bumrah was an exception and was the highest wicket-taker from the Indian side and the most economical bowler in the series as well. In the first match, he picked two crucial wickets of Malan and Bavuma. He restricted Malan from scoring a century in the second match and castled him for 91 runs. In the third match, he picked two wickets which included a crucial one of De Kock. He ended the series with five wickets with an economy of 4.56. 10. Tabraiz Shamsi Tabraiz Shamsi. (Photo by Gareth Copley-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm-unorthodox spin bowler was as usual in good touch in the ODI’s. He bowled 10 overs in the first match and picked the key wicket of Virat Kohli at the right time and finished his spell with 2-52. In the second match, he was hit by Pant for a few boundaries but, he replied in his style by dismissing him for 85 runs. He bowled nine overs and picked two wickets by giving away 57 runs. He missed the third ODI but is the only spinner with four wickets in the series. The chinaman bowler interestingly performed much better than his Indian counterparts asking questions constantly of the batters. He spun the ball more as well and kept the batters on the tenterhooks all the time with his variations. 11. Lungi Ngidi Lungi Ngidi. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) Lungi Ngidi bowled exceptionally well in the three matches. In the first match, he took the wickets of Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer and finished the match with an economy of 6.40. In the second match, he went wicketless but contained the Indian unit with an economy of 4.40. His best performance in this series came in the third match when he dismissed the key player KL Rahul and also took the most crucial wicket of Deepak Chahar at the right time. This wicket changed the course of the match when India needed 10 runs to win. Ngidi eventually ended with the figures of 3/58. In the absence of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, Ngidi certainly stood up and and delivered for his side.

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