Series win in SA showed why India are World No.1 in the ODI format, says Kris Srikkanth
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Kris Srikkanth has asserted that India’s 4-1 thrashing of SA in the ongoing series has justified India’s number one rank in the 50-over format of the game. India is only the second team in the history of the game after world champions Australia to beat SA in a 5 match+ ODI series on their home turf.
With a 73-run victory over SA in the fifth ODI on Tuesday, India leapfrogged South Africa to the number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings and also won their first bilateral series against them on their soil. With a fourth victory in the first five matches of the series, former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth applauded team India’s emphatic victory over the South Africans.
"Winning a bilateral series for the first time in South Africa is no easy feat. India is only the second team (Australia, twice) to beat the African nation in a five-match ODI series in their own den. This stat alone should put things in perspective. They are not an easy team to beat at home and full credit to the Indian team for coming back strongly after that rare defeat at the Wanderers," wrote Srikkanth on his TOI column.
India is now due to play the 6th ODI and a three-match T20I series, before heading to England and Australia for tougher assignments. Series in England and Australia will provide a good match practice for the World Cup scheduled to be played in England next year.
"A good last game and success in the T20 series to follow will rightly perch the Indian team right at the top in terms of confidence for the tougher assignments in future and the World Cup in particular. This result has proved beyond doubt that India has all the ammunition to be successful in all conditions in this format. I am sure this is the start of many good things to come for this confident, young and fit Indian side," said the 58-year-old.
The best part about the series win has been the margins with which India have defeated the Proteas. India won the first ODI by 6 wickets and followed that up with a 9 wicket victory in the second ODI. A 124-run victory was registered in the third ODI by India before losing the fourth one by 5 wickets. India completed the series win with a 73-run victory in the fifth ODI. Srikkanth believes that these victories justified India’s number one ranking in the world and will also love to see a victory for the Men in Blue in the sixth ODI to be played on February 16.
"What has stood out in the series has been the manner in which the wins have been secured. The margins have been massive and there has been little scope for SA to even be in the game. This series win also clearly showed who the World No.1 in this format really is. To dislodge the current toppers with such authority augurs well for Indian cricket. At this stage India should not let go of the intensity as a 5-1 scoreline sounds much sweeter than 4-2," he wrote.
Rohit Sharma had been out of form for the entire series until the fifth ODI, in which he helped India post a respectable score of 274 with his 17th ODI hundred. Before his 115 in the last match, Rohit had managed just 118 runs in the previous 8 innings in both the Test series as well as the ODI series.
"As usual practice in this series, this win also threw a few positives for Virat Kohli. It was vital for Rohit Sharma to find some form. He is one of the better white-ball batsmen going around the world at the moment and his form is crucial to India's chances in Australia and England," said the former Indian captain.
Srikkanth believes that a good batting form for the left-right combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma followed by Kohli’s brilliance can win matches for India on any given day. These three have scored a combined 19 ODI hundreds in the last one year with Kohli hitting 8 of them, followed by Sharma's 7 and Dhawan’s 4.
India has now become the second team after Australia to win a bilateral series against the Proteas in South Africa. Australia had defeated South Africa 3-2 when they toured the Proteas in 2008
"As usual practice in this series, this win also threw a few positives for Virat Kohli. It was vital for Rohit Sharma to find some form. He is one of the better white-ball batsmen going around the world at the moment and his form is crucial to India's chances in Australia and England. If both Dhawan and Rohit are in form, they are easily the toughest opening pair to bowl in world cricket. Add the left-right combination with Virat to follow, and India should be waiting for games to start," concluded Kris
