I had mentioned in my previous article that this period — roughly a week to ten days — was always going to be significant, and while it is not a long ODI series, it has certainly carried a far more aligned context within the global game. And what a week it has been for India. They have not only won the series, but when you look more closely at the defining phases across the matches, the key moments belonged to them. Individual performances will of course be highlighted and celebrated, which is something to return to later, but the broader theme for me is how consistently India handled pressure.
It was a competitive series, and while there will inevitably be discussions about the conditions, the toss, and how those elements might have shaped certain passages of play, removing all of that from the conversation still leaves one clear impression: India managed the major moments better than their opponents.
To understand why that was the case, it is difficult to look past the leadership influence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, alongside the senior group. Their presence and their ability to recognise decisive situations, absorb the pressure within them, and shape their team’s response stood out repeatedly. The impact of those two goes beyond the runs they scored; it extends into how they guide the players around them, how they set standards, and how they elevate India in tightly balanced situations. In series like these, where top sides face off — as England are also discovering in the Ashes in Australia — results often turn on a handful of small moments. South Africa are a top side across all formats now, and competing against such opposition means those margins matter even more. India, led strongly and calmly, won those margins, and that was a major feature of the week.
Their influence becomes even clearer when considering the development of players like Yashasvi Jaiswal. His first hundred in this format came while spending a significant amount of time batting alongside Rohit Sharma at the top. I have mentioned before that it is astonishing that a player like Jaiswal has not yet fully taken the ODI game by storm, but performances like this suggest that moment is very close. More importantly, the value of being in the middle with Rohit — understanding when to play certain shots, when to hold back, how to manage rhythms and tempo — provides learnings that simply cannot be replicated in nets or team meetings. They are priceless.
The same can be said about Virat Kohli’s impact. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s first ODI hundred came while batting alongside Kohli for large stretches of the innings. Again, the guidance,
the experience, the decision-making being passed on in real time becomes invaluable. These are lessons that players gather only by being in match situations with leaders of that calibre. It naturally leads into the discussion about coaching. Coaches are often criticised readily when teams lose — questioned for what they supposedly aren’t doing — but ultimately a coach’s role is to set the environment, the discipline, the standards, and the direction. The most meaningful learning, however, still happens out in the middle. No matter how good a coach is, nothing replaces the presence of a senior player like Rohit or Kohli guiding a teammate through pressure situations.
What also stood out this week was how refreshed Rohit and Kohli looked. In conversations around scheduling, mental fatigue, and the sheer volume of cricket, their body language told a different story. Watching them enjoy their cricket again, smiling, energised, uplifting teammates, enjoying not just their own performances but each other’s — it did not look like a chore for a single moment. That attitude inevitably influences the group around them and appears to be doing so in a very positive way.
From a broader perspective, India seem to have managed their senior players’ retirements and career trajectories exceptionally well. With their clear ODI World Cup intentions, everything looks on track. The decisions taken regarding how much they play, how they build towards major tournaments, and how they stay mentally refreshed appear to have been handled with real clarity.
On the bowling front, the standout again was Kuldeep Yadav. Anyone who follows my articles knows how highly I rate him. Bowling with a wet ball is never easy, and dealing with dew presents its own challenges, yet when he did get a dry ball in hand, he delivered with four wickets. There are not many in the global game who perform that role better than he does. Adam Zampa would be one comparable name. But when teams are trying to accelerate through middle overs and are forced to take Kuldeep on, it becomes a tough assignment. As much as India’s batting strength is discussed, his role remains absolute gold dust for the team.
South Africa, on the other hand, were competitive and showed again why they are a terrific all-format side. However, I felt they slightly misread one or two decisions. Tony de Zorzi not playing forced them into structural adjustments, including trying to fill that slot with Markram lower down the order. As I’ve said previously, South Africa do not use Dewald Brevis well enough. I thought they could have utilised him differently in this game. Markram scored a hundred and then moved batting positions, but even so, I still believe he should be at the top of the order dictating terms. They brought in Ryan Rickelton, and although it
may not have changed the final outcome, I felt they could have handled that situation more effectively. Brevis could have been pushed up instead of rearranging roles the way they did.
Ultimately, they ran out of steam. It has been a long tour, and they reached positions where 320–350 was possible and would have made them highly competitive, but they could not quite get there. That does not take away from how strong a side they are, but it does highlight how well India handled key passages.
In the end, India can be delighted with how the week unfolded. It is remarkable how much difference ten days can make in this sport — shifting emotions between joy and despair. ODIs sometimes lose context when disconnected from major tournaments, but this particular week mattered, and India made it count.
