On Thursday, a milestone ODI series victory over South Africa left the Indian team grinning from ear to ear. This remarkable success marked only the second time the Men in Blue triumphed in an ODI series on South African territory. The initial victory was back in 2018 when Virat Kohli and his crew clinched a 5-1 win.
The BCCI often updates its website with behind-the-scenes footage. The newest video showed the Indian players beaming after a historic 78-run victory in Paarl to secure the series.
It was then time for the series’ head coach, Sitanshu Kotak, to recognize Sanju Samson’s stunning maiden ODI century, as well as Arshdeep Singh, who picked up four wickets and the Player of the Series title.
Ajay Ratra, the series’ stand-in fielding coach, continued the tradition of awarding the Impact Fielder medal. He claimed that skipper KL Rahul had more points, but the wicketkeeper was gracious enough to present the prize to Sai Sudharsan.
It was a very nice act that would instill confidence in the youngster.
India’s young talent stepped up to clinch the ODI series
With numerous experienced players from India’s 2023 World Cup squad resting for the Test series, the opportunity for the youngsters to shine was there for the taking. Arshdeep Singh took 10 wickets in the series and also shown what he is capable of with the bat.
Back-to-back half-centuries for Sai Sudharsan, as well as a game-changing catch of Heinrich Klaasen in the third ODI, demonstrated what he brought to the table. Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh were also brilliant, while Sanju Samson once again demonstrated his capacity to win games with the bat if given continuous opportunities.