India vs South Africa: Hits and misses for Team India

Team India coach Rahul Dravid has gone on record to say that he wants to identify his core team for the tournament as soon as possible and by the end of the England T20Is in July, wants to have a fair idea about the 18 to 20-odd players he would be looking at ahead of the World Cup in Australia. Some of the regular players were rested for the series against South Africa. Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah were all rested. Surykumar Yadav was nursing an injury. KL Rahul was initially named the captain of the series before he got injured and Rishabh Pant was asked to lead for the first time. TimesofIndia.com here looks at players who were given a full run in the series, that is, they played all the five matches against South Africa and how some of them capitalised on the chances, while others failed to make the most of the opportunities - the hits and the misses. First a look at the players who made it count:

Ishan Kishan: The diminutive opener had a poor IPL as did his team Mumbai Indians, but he didn’t let those setbacks come in his way of his swashbuckling strokes. In fact Kishan roared back to form and ended up being the highest run-getter in the series. With two fifties, Kishan smashed 206 runs in the series, with a highest score of 76 at a strike rate of 150.36. If he carries on with this form, it will be very difficult for the selectors to ignore or drop him as he would be a ‘good headache’ to have as he is a fine wicket-keeper too.

Hardik Pandya: With Hardik Pandya in the ranks, this Indian team has a different look to it. A finisher down the order, a big-hitter who can throw his bat around when quick runs are needed, a medium-pacer who can bowl at a decent pace, Hardik the all-rounder has marched