De Villiers was criticised for his captaincy in the one-day global team as South Africa crashed out of the ongoing Champions Trophy after one win and two losses.
"In 2015, I sat afterwards and I was extremely disappointed". The target was achieved on the last delivery of the 38th over itself to bring an end to a rather one-sided affair.
However, India's second wicket partnership included form batsman Dhawan and one of the greatest cricket players on the planet, Virat Kohli. "I would say we had a complete performance in the field", Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony. Obviously today is a really bad day for us.
"The side have been missing that spark, or that intensity to their play that characterises South Africa cricket", he added. "We didn't pitch up as a team". While Kohli basked in the afterglow of the commanding win, AB was left fending off questions about his captaincy, and whether the team needed a psychologist. "These are the players".
"At the worldwide level, the margin for error is always minimal, and South Africa did not play the big moments well".
De Villiers, who took over as South Africa's limited-overs captain back in 2011, doesn't a have a good captaincy record in ICC events. "I take full responsibility for AB's run-out", du Plessis said South Africa's eight-wicket defeat.
Young Bumrah topped the list with 32 dot balls followed by Hardik Pandya with 29.
Trying to explain the turnaround in his team's fortunes, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said: "We had a good bowling meeting". I think you saw it in this game.
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He did not do it on goal because normally you would get a puncture so in that regard he was lucky he did not get one. There were some manoeuvres where I almost wanted to close my eyes but ultimately the team and vehicle deserved more.
"It is very hard to sell it on this kind of performance but that is what I believe in".
The India bowlers, especially, had very good memories of that practice match. Most importantly, the bowlers again came to the party with a very resounding performance. The answer lies in there.
"The situation in front of us is very clear - we have to win the game, everything else is just irrelevant", he said. If I use an example, [from] the top five in the past year and half, there have been a lot of hundreds. "There was a call out there, and I thought we could get through for the one". AB had a quiet tournament but it's the same thing. It's as simple as that.
Ashwin and Jadeja may not have got too many wickets but removed openers Hashim Amla (35, 54b, 3×4, 1×6) and Quinton de Kock (53, 72 b, 4×4) after a sedate start. They were forcing South Africa to manufacture shots. A lot of criticism came in way of ODI skipper de Villiers, after he failed to lead the side to the semi-finals of the ongoing Champions Trophy. There were hardly any misfields and the Indians were waiting to pounce on any slip on the part of South Africans.
Ben Stokes hit a career-best 102 not out and captain Eoin Morgan 87 as England knocked Australia out of the Champions Trophy with a 40-run win over its arch-rival at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Dhawan crunched Morris over mid-on for his eighth four to reach his 50 and the left-hander played some brutal strokes before he skied Tahir to Du Plessis at long-off.
As a result, South Africa were undercooked and it cost them dearly.
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