The Major Takeaways For India From The Freedom Series.

The Freedom ODI series between India and South Africa was action packed hard fought and thourouly entertaining throughout. Both teams showed there class and their enthusiasm to win the series.  The series went in the favour of South Africa winning it by 3-2. But all was not working well for the men in blue from the start of the series itself. With Ravi Ashwin ruled out of the entire series due to side strains.  Men in blue lost there second consecutive ODI series the first being against Bangladesh.
India produced just a single complete game and struggled throughout with there batting lineup, bowling attack, team selection. After the series, Dhoni said it was necessary to experiment because the team was still discovering its potential and that the process was more important than getting results at this stage. This series loss has created heaps of pressure on MS Dhoni as a limited overs captain and cricketer in general. Below are some of the major takeaways from this series:
1) Ajinkya Rahane has made himself undropable: Over the last few months, no India batsman has been discussed more than Ajinkya Rahane. From dropping him in Bangladesh, to his non-selection in the T20Is against South Africa, to moving him up and down the lineup in the ODI series, his place and position in the playing XI has been one of constant debate.
Rahane responded in the best possible manner with exceptional batting performances in the ODI series. Rahane played four knocks of very high quality, scoring 60, 51, 45 and a fabulous knock of 87 at Wankhede stadium were he won lots of hearts of the spectators with his amazing batting performance. It's time stop over-analysing Rahane's skills in the middle-order and saying it's difficult to play him in the XI if not in the top three. Those explanations will merely be excuses from now on. Give Rahane a settled spot in the order and just let him be.
2) The all-rounder mystery: Dhoni said in the post match presentation that " We have tried Stuart Binny but people have criticized this as well. But the thing is that he is our best seam bowling all-rounder. Our options for good spinning all-rounders are Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Whether everyone likes it or not but they are the best options we have.
Gurkeerat Singh is the closest to usurping the spot but Dhoni said he has to wait for his chance, though it is unclear why. If this series didn't make it obvious enough, India need some fresh thinking and blooding a batsman who can be useful with the ball – think JP Duminy – could be the tonic India needs. Another main contender for this spot will be Yuvraj Singh who is waiting eagerly for one last chance.
3) India's flop pace attack: Watching young Kagiso Rabada bowl in this series made one thing clear - raw pace gets you nowhere without control and discipline. Rabada was scintillating through out the series but his most impressive attribute was his death bowling. He showed tactical maturity to dig it in short and at the body of the batsmen, before mixing it up with full, fast yorkers.
India's fast(er) bowlers, on the other hand, struggled at the top and the death. Wickets with the new ball were a rarity
Mohit Sharma, will never be the spearhead of a bowling attack – even Dhoni said he should be the third seamer.
The problem is compounded because the bowlers waiting in the wings have not set the cricket world alight either. Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma have been inconsistent at best. Mohammad Shami seems to have gone completely off the radar after his injury early this year. it is difficult to explain what happens to fast bowlers in India after they reach the international stage, But as South Africa showed, India cannot keep thinking the only strategy they need at home is to pack the side with spinners.
4) The captaincy discussion: Make no mistake; there is a debate to be had. This series loss, the first ever against South Africa at home, should hurt the India players and the captain most of all. The defeat in Wankhede will rankle as one of the worst under Dhoni's captaincy.
But, in the bigger picture, it is worth remembering the series ended 3-2. There is a need to acknowledge that these were two highly talented teams going toe-to-toe against other. By ignoring the fine margins by which the games were decided, we take the sheen away from a closely fought series. Besides, Dhoni's inspirational performance in Indore showed that we shouldn't write him off just yet.
Yes, Dhoni has showed there are chinks in his armour, both in his batting (he let Rabada outfox him throughout the series) and his captaincy (with selection calls and batting order changes). The defeat in Wankhede, however, showed there is only so much a captain can do when all his bowlers get mauled. There are questions that need to be asked and Dhoni will ask them but this is a team that made the World Cup semifinals just over six months ago.
India need to rethink their strategy and clean out a few problems but there's no need to burn down the whole house.