South Africa vs India 2018, 3rd ODI: Things which went right for the visitors

#3 Absence of South Africa's stalwarts

South Africa were dealt a 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 in the first ODI, where none of their batsmen except skipper Faf du Plessis (120) managed to show any resistance against India's menacing wrist-spinners.

Just ahead of the second ODI, Du Plessis was also ruled out of the series due to an injury and 23-year-old Aiden Markram was made the stand-in skipper for the hosts.

But, Markram's international leadership debut on his home ground quickly turned into a nightmare as South Africa suffered a massive batting collapse and were bowled out for 118 in 32.2 overs.

Then, before the start of the 3rd ODI, Quinton de Kock joined the stalwarts on the sidelines as South Africa included uncapped wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen in their playing XI.

De Kock sustained the injury during the 2nd ODI at SuperSport Park on Sunday and will require 2-4 weeks to make a recovery.