New Delhi: Mighty South Africa, on Saturday, defeated India by 4 runs in the third and final ODI played at Newlands in Cape Town to register a historic 3-0 series whitewash in the three-match series. Batting first after losing the toss, South Africa scored 287 runs in 49.5 overs, courtesy a hard-fought ton from Quinton de Kock.
In reply, the Indian team were bundled up for 283 runs in 49.2 overs and Proteas won the series finale by four runs. Andile Phehlukwayo and Lungi Ngidi were the pick of bowlers for South Africa as the duo bagged three wickets apiece.
India head coach Rahul Dravid lauded a young team India for their efforts and expressed confidence that the Men in Blue will certainly get better with time.
"I think it's an eye opener for us. It was my first stint with the ODI side and we played ODI for a long time. Good that the World Cup is far away and we have time to regroup. We will certainly get better with time.
"We certainly could have done better with the batting in the middle overs. We understand the template. Few of them were not available for selections who bat in the middle. Hopefully when they come back it will give a boost to the side," India head coach Rahul Dravid said in the post-match presser.
Deepak Chahar scored a quick fifty in the last overs to give India a fighting chance but failed to take his team over the line.
"Deepak Chahar has shown in the past too that he has got good abilities with the bat. It gives us more options. Shardul Thakur has also done well with the bat. We want to give them more chances.
"We didn't change the batting order much and wanted to give them an extended run. The idea is to give them a sense of security and when they are getting opportunities then only you can demand big performances from them. That is the idea," coach Dravid said.
Despite a series whitewash, head coach Dravid backed KL Rahul by saying that the star batter will constantly learn and do better in the future.
"KL Rahul has just started as a captain. He tried to do a decent job. He will constantly learn and do better in the future I am sure.
"I won't single out the spinners only. We have to do well with our wicket taking abilities in the middle overs. We have discussed how we can improve in this area," head coach Dravid explained.