India missed Ashwin in the later part of series: AB

Mumbai, Oct 25: South Africa skipper A.B. de Villiers believes India missed star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the later part of the series, as the 29-year-old was ruled out of the One-Day Intertiol (ODI) series due to left side strain he sustained in the first match in Kanpur.

“India did miss Ashwin in the later part of the series. He is a champion bowler. But I think injuries do happen in the game... as we missed Morne Morkel in the later part of the series,” de Villiers said at the post match press conference.

Powered by centuries each from Faf du Plessis (133), de Villiers (119) and Quinton de Kock (109), South Africa visitors registered a mammoth 214-run win over a spiritless India at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

On the first bilateral series win against India in the country, de Villiers said: “It was a complete performance with the bat and ball from us. I am proud of the performance. We kept things simple which was good. We haven’t won a bilateral series here before and it’s a proud moment.”

The 31-year-old rated Du Plessis’s innings as the best among the other knocks.

“Faf came in at a time when the Indian spinners were getting some spin out of the pitch. He didn’t get the appreciation he deserved. The knock he played I felt was best among the other hundreds,” he said.

The skipper also praised De Kock for delivering after going through a tough phase. IANS