South Africa vs India 2018, 1st ODI: Things which went right for the visitors

#4 Absence of AB de Villiers

South Africa were dealt a huge blow after their star batsman AB de Villiers was ruled out of the first three ODIs of the six-match series against India due to a finger injury.

The 33-year-old, who is still the nucleus of South Africa's batting order, was sorely missed by the hosts as none of their batsmen except skipper Faf du Plessis (120) managed to show any resistance against India's menacing wrist-spinners.

With 1295 runs in 29 ODIs, De Villiers, who was recently named in the ICC ODI Team of the Year 2017, boasts of a terrific record against India.

The former South Africa captain was also the differentiator between the two teams in the recently concluded three-match Test series, as he was the leading run-scorer with a tally of 211 in six innings.