SA vs IND, 2018: Sourav Ganguly says India can be unbeatable 'anywhere'

India won the six-match One-day International series after the fifth ODI victory by 73 runs and took an unassailable lead of 4-1 at the St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. A lot of credit should be given to the Indian spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who were instrumental in the emphatic series win.

Kuldeep and Chahal combined together and picked up 30 scalps out of the 43 wickets in the first five matches.

The Proteas batsmen accepted the fact that they have struggled to read the Indian spinners throughout the series.

The spin duo has also earned praises from some of the quarters and former cricketers hailed their tremendous efforts.

Moreover, the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has also showered praise on the spin duo who have completely bamboozled the South African batsmen.

India last lost a bilateral ODI series in 2015 that too against South Africa at home. This series win is also the first series win by India in ODI’s on the South African soil.

Interestingly, the tally of 30 wickets is now the highest by the Indian spinners in an ODI series.

The only time India’s spinners took more than 30 wickets in a tournament or a series was in the 2011 World Cup, where they picked up 34 wickets.

Ganguly said that if the spin duo continues their form then they will be unbeatable anywhere. He said, “They have been brilliant. And they have not taken wickets on turners but on good wickets. It’s a good thing for both of them. If they keep picking wickets like this than no one will be able to defeat India anywhere,”

 

However, Ganguly also said that with time batsman in will show better resistance against them in the future, “I was watching the other day and Kuldeep himself looked surprised at how some of the South African batsmen fell. So there will be other teams who will play them better than this. But they will always be a threat.” 

Ganguly also expressed his views on the debate of finger spinners vs wrist spinners, “Wrist spinners have always been a threat. You look at Shane Warne and Anil Kumble. Or a (Muttiah) Muralitharan who always troubled batsmen, a Graeme Swann who was an off-spinner but not a finger spinner, a different kind of off-spinner. So this will be a factor. But like we discussed, it’s about quality which Kuldeep and Chahal have.”  

Ganguly also added that Ashwin and Jadeja would be under pressure to regain their spots in the limited overs format, “There will be pressure on Ashwin and Jadeja. Because with their performances (Kuldeep and Chahal) you haven’t just beaten the opposition but outplayed them. If you dominate this way, it will create pressure on the others. Ashwin does have a very good record at home. So we will wait and see.”

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