KL Rahul did not start his captaincy tenure on a bright note as he lost the second ODI in Paarl to lose the three-match ODI series against South Africa.
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KL Rahul did not begin his captaincy tenure on a bright note in ODIs. He became the fifth captain in Indian cricket history to lose his first two ODIs as captain. South Africa chased down 288 in Paarl, which was the highest at the venue and third successful overall against India in ODIs. The Indian bowlers were put under the sword by Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, and Rassie van der Dussen as they won by seven wickets. The win gave the Proteas a 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the final Test to be played in Cape Town.
The Indian bowling attack has struggled in the last couple of ODI series. Their average has been 49 from 2020 and in this series, they have struggled to run through the opposition. They picked up only three wickets in the second innings of both the Cape Town and Johannesburg Tests. In the two ODIs, they have picked a total of seven wickets. In the second ODI, barring Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal, the rest of the bowling was hit all over the park.
Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan shared a brilliant 132-run opening stand to give South Africa the launchpad. Despite losing de Kock, South Africa comfortably scored at over five runs an over in the middle overs. This ensured they were not under pressure. This was the key factor that saw India unable to defend the total.
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“We are trying to get better at things we haven’t done well in the past. Partnerships, middle-order becomes crucial when we are entering a big tournament. We want to get better at bowling in the middle overs. These are the few things that are really obvious and right in front of us. We have spoken about it and it’s only up to us to get better. Jasprit has been the standout bowler for us and Yuzi has been good,” Rahul stated.
KL Rahul hailed the batting of Rishabh Pant, who smashed an aggressive 85. The captain and Pant shared a crucial partnership and a late blitz by Shardul Thakur saw India reach 287.
“It does feel like one of the wickets at home and I don’t think it was a pitch where they could have chased down 280 that easily. Credit to them, they are showing us the importance of partnerships and putting pressure early on against the bowlers. The way Shikhar and Virat batted in the first game was very good, and today Rishabh batted, the way he managed the first 20 balls, and then he took down the spinners. He is a really important member of the team and Shardul, too, showing us he can bat lower down and make a good contribution,” Rahul said.
