What the unprecedented series victory in South Africa means for Indian cricket team and captain Kohli

India created history on February 13 when they beat South Africa in the fifth One-Day International (ODI) in Port Elizabeth to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in the six-game series. It is the first time that India defeated SA in any international series in their den and more particularly, they became just the second team to win a ODI series in South Africa after Australia (who won in 1996-97 and 2000-01), asserting their authority in world cricket at the moment.

9 series wins on the trot; 4 abroad

This victory also ensured that India remained victorious in nine consecutive ODI series since 2016 and four of these wins have come away in Zimbabwe, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa. India were catapulted to the No.1 rank in the ODIs, replacing South Africa, who now even face a risk of getting relegated to the third position if England can whack New Zealand in their ODI series.

Team India picking up at right moment for 2019 World Cup

This first-ever conquest of South Africa has some significances for both India as a cricketing side and Virat Kohli as its captain. As a team, India has been doing well in the run-up to the next World Cup scheduled in England in the first half of 2019 and the victory in SA will give them a massive boost for the following series’ in 2018, including the away series against big teams like England and Australia.

In the 17 series (bilateral and multilateral) that India had played prior to their second World Cup victory in 2011, they had won 11, suggesting how well they had picked up ahead of the mega event. A similar story is unfolding this time as well.

The ‘Australiafication’ of India is a healthy sign

India’s consistency in the last 10 series/tournaments in which they have won 31 matches and lost just 10 also point towards a sort of their ‘Australiafication’. The highlight of this stint is that India won four away series, finished runners-up in one multilateral series in England besides winning five home series against Australia, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand (twice).

This is a big departure from India’s previous victory stints that mostly came in home conditions. What Kohli’s men have achieved is something a great team like Australia used to do with elan in the past. The stretch of victory has also meant that India’s success percentage has gone up to 54.06 from 50.33, bettering their rank as the fourth most successful ODI team at the moment after Australia (63.91%), South Africa (63.81%) and Pakistan (54.30%).

If India can maintain their run over the next few months, they will overtake Pakistan as well and go to the World Cup as one of the top three teams in the world. With the most number of ODIs under their belt (938 at the moment), the top ODI rank and one of the best success percentage in the 50-over format, India will be more than a force in the next edition of the quadrennial tournament to clinch their third title.

As a team, India are proving to be a perfect combination

Statistics apart, as a team, too, India are looking ominous. The emergence of two wrist spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav who hunt in pair and the solid top order in the batting department featuring openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan and the ever-hungry skipper Kohli make India a tough customer in world cricket and the Indian fans will rely on these two deadly factors to deliver.

The coming of age of India’s pace attack is also something to take note of post the series in South Africa. The likes of Hardik Pandya can contribute in another department if they fail in one while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has emerged as a reliable all-rounder on this South African tour.

India though has some concerns to address – like the inability of the middle and lower middle order to accelerate and capitalise on the foundation given by the top three and also the batting form of the veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni – but there is enough time still to address these before the first ball of the next World Cup is bowled.

Teams with consistent success in the history of the game have always had the right balance to deliver. India, on the other hand, were mostly seen as a team with batting as its main power. But the ongoing tour of South Africa has shown that India are as good a bowling and fielding side in foreign conditions and that’s a sign of greatness.

Kohli’s captaincy is scaling new heights

The ruthless instinct that India show on the field nowadays is a product of Kohli’s never-to-be-satisfied hunger. And this makes a discussion on captain Kohli post the victory in SA important here. Kohli had some experience as the skipper in the longest format before he took over the ODI captain in January last year and began the stint with a ton against England in Pune. It was his 27th ton and in 13 months since then, he has added another seven to his kitty to take his ODI tally of hundreds to 34.

In the past, we saw experts saying that captaincy puts a burden on the team’s best players and they should be left free to play their own game. Sachin Tendulkar was found to be one such player with a lot of people opining against him donning the mantle of the captain. But in case of Kohli, the theory has simply been shattered. The man has gone on with a machine-like captaincy with both the bat and the captaincy.

Kohli has best success rate of all Indian captains now

After India’s win in Port Elizabeth, Kohli stands to be the sixth most successful ODI captain for India with 37 wins out of 48 games after Dhoni (110 wins), Mohammad Azharuddin (90), Sourav Ganguly (76), Rahul Dravid (42) and Kapil Dev (38). What’s magnificent is that Kohli has already a number of big away series victories to his credit and he has a far better success percentage of 78.72 than all his five better-placed predecessors – including the World Cup-winning duo of Kapil Dev and Dhoni.

For a player who has captained less than 50 matches and yet scaled the heights coupled with a breathtaking batting display, the figures indicate at a bright future. The challenges will only grow for Kohli with expectations but the 29-year-old has a tremendous knack to do things smartly, both on and off the ground.

Kohli is at times criticised for his aggression but if he has managed to make his bat and team talk on the ground, then one certainly shouldn’t have any problem with that. We are not living in the Victorian Era and neither does cricket belong to the amateurs anymore. Kohli now is on his way to lead India to pinnacles of success not tasted before and he deserves a massive credit for that, irrespective of his style on the ground.