The Indians are now out of Africa. Hardly despondent even though the ODI series was lost. They played without their major players, were up against history and against a side which is almost unbeatable at home.
Yet, little separated the two teams till the final four overs of the tour! One could also look at it differently. India won two games rather fortuitously.
Their batting was never convincing, except for Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan. They hardly looked like topping 250 runs. So, maybe they were lucky to run South Africa this close.
What is non-debatable is the spirit of this India team. This side now feels they can prevail. They can now field a completely new side and yet back themselves. If they could hold their own in South Africa, imagine what a force they would be in the World Cup.
We have been witness to India's notable progress in the recent weeks. One, the tail can sting. Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin are no pushovers with bats.
Then, there is Yusuf Pathan. His sixes are now like a rapid-fire round. The No. 7 position now looks less thorny with Pathan's advent.
{{/usCountry}}Then, there is Yusuf Pathan. His sixes are now like a rapid-fire round. The No. 7 position now looks less thorny with Pathan's advent.
{{/usCountry}}Yuvraj Singh too is fleshing out in his roles. He looked in good touch even though big scores eluded him.
His bowling was notable though. He picked up five wickets from 29 overs at a good average.
India were hurt by the batsman in this ODI series. This should not be the case in the World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag would soon be uncaged. Yuvraj, Dhoni and Suresh Raina would be up and running again. Kohli and Pathan are on a roll anyway.
So, now I am beginning to join the chorus - Go, India Go.