Dale Steyn named a player India missed in the ODI series vs South Africa.© AFP
India crashed to a 0-3 loss to South Africa in their three-match ODI series and showed poor form in all aspects of the game. The visitors were weak in their middle order and also lacked a cutting edge in their bowling department. Speaking to Star Sports after the third ODI, former Proteas pacer Dale Steyn opined that the Men in Blue Ravindra missed Jadeja and also called him a “great cricketer”. Steyn explained that the all-rounder’s ability to control matches would have been a huge advantage for India, along with his fantastic hitting and bowling skills.
“They definitely missed someone like Sir Ravi Jadeja. I just think he’s a great cricketer. He can control the game with his left arm spin. He’s brilliant and he can bat too,” said the 38-year-old.
Despite strong batting performances by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan in Cape Town, the visitors failed to chase a 288-run goal in the third ODI and lost by four runs.
The middle order in particular failed to impress when Rishabh Pant was fired over a golden duck. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav could only collect 26 and 39 runs respectively.
During the three-game ODI series, the bowlers also put on an erratic display, failing to support spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
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“India has a bit of a bowling problem. They need someone who supports Bumrah. They need someone who can bowl in 140-145 km/h interval. Shami is great. He had a long test run. Siraj looks like a name for the future. I think he has a bit of a problem,” Steyn said during the show after the game.
The series also saw KL Rahul fill the captaincy due to the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was unavailable following an injury last year.
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