South Africa vs India 2018: 5 positives for India from the tour

India's long tour to South Africa finally came to an end with the visitors winning the T20I series decider. With series wins in both the ODI and the T20 format, it seems as though India’s mission to build a pool of players for the ICC Cricket World Cup next year is on the right track.

More importantly, though, India seem to know what it takes to play and win in foreign conditions. With a win without their regular captain and in-form batsman Virat Kohli in the final T20I, India showed character on the field and came away with a 7-run victory, despite a brave knock from debutant Jonker.

Forging ahead, India will try and improve their Test record overseas but in limited overs cricket, they seem to be quite a formidable force. Let us have a look at the 5 biggest positives from India’s tour of South Africa.

Jasprit Bumrah - the Test bowler

Bumrah has a promising career ahead of him in Test cricket

Jasprit Bumrah made his Test debut in the first match of the series in Newlands and improved as a bowler right from his first day in the whites. Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah are the spearheads of India’s limited-overs attack, and if Bumrah shows the same level of maturity and learns the tricks of the trade at the Test level, it would be a joy to watch the Indian pacers bowling in tandem. Jasprit Bumrah - the Test bowler - is a huge positive for India from this tour.

Shikhar Dhawan’s consistency in ODIs

Dhawan has become highly consistent in 50-over cricket

Shikhar Dhawan's love affair with ODI cricket continued as he scored a mountain of runs in the ODI series. Overshadowed by the brilliance of Virat Kohli, he was nonetheless as effective as effective can be, winning matches on more than one occasion.

When Dhawan gets going, he allows players like Virat and Rohit to take their time to build their innings.

Virat Kohli in whites

Well on his way to becoming a legend of the game

Cricket experts often say that Virat Kohli isn't the kind of threat in Test cricket as he is in limited-overs cricket, where he is definitely a class apart. But in this Test series, Virat showed why he is considered to be one of the modern-day greats, scoring runs at will and leading his side by example.

Kohli took the attack to the opposition and ensured India remained in the contest for the most part. With his splendid performances in the series, Kohli showed that he is just as dangerous in Test cricket as he is in white-ball cricket.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the captain's go-to man

Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed the world why he is such a gem of a bowler for India in all formats of the game. In the Test matches, Bhuvi made a mark with the ball, and then went on to play a very significant role in India’s T20I series triumph, ending as the Man of the Series for his splendid performances, including a fifer in the first T20I and an excellent final over in the deciding match.

Bhuvneshwar has grown by leaps and bounds as a bowler and that is an encouraging sign for the Indian side ahead of the World Cup.

Rohit Sharma - the skipper

Rohit Sharma was spot on with his decisions

In the final T20I when Virat Kohli was forced to sit out due to a stiff back, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma made some bold and successful moves, impressing one and all with his ability to read the game effectively.

From persisting with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his first spell to giving Suresh Raina the ball ahead of somebody like Axar Patel, Rohit was spot on with his decisions and also ensured that the match was always within India's control. So, in case Kohli isn’t available to lead the side (like in the upcoming Tri-Series in Sri Lanka), India know who to fall back on.