Team India suffered a four-wicket defeat in the second ODI against South Africa at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday (December 3).
Asked to bat first, the Men in Blue racked up 358/5 in their allotted 50 overs on the back of centuries from Virat Kohli (102 off 93), Ruturaj Gaikwad (105 off 83) and stand-in skipper KL Rahul’s unbeaten 66 from 43 balls.
In reply, the Proteas rode on Aiden Markram’s ton (110 off 98) and crucial contributions from Matthew Breetzke (68 off 64), Dewald Brevis (54 off 34) and Corbin Bosch (29* off 15) to overhaul the target with four wickets as many deliveries to spare, leveling the series 1-1.
As the Indian bowlers failed to defend a formable total, former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra slammed the BCCI selectors for the absence of pacer Mohammed Siraj from the ODI squad and making him a single-format bowler.
South Africa levelled the three-match series 1-1 by pulling off the joint-highest chase in ODIs against India as fast bowler Prasidh Krishna leaked 85 runs in 8.2 overs and Harshit Rana conceded 70 runs in 10 overs. Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was also taken to cleaners, returning with bowling figures of 2/78 in 10 overs.
“Can you understand what is happening with Mohammed Siraj? I cannot understand at all. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that he has become a one-format player,” Chopra said in a video shared on X. “And when did this happen? When he plays Test cricket, we are so effusive of him for his passion, commitment and wicket-taking abilities.
“But how did he vanish from ODI cricket?” Aakash asked. “He is playing domestic cricket currently. When he was not picked for the Champions Trophy, we were a little disappointed because two years prior to that, he was the highest wicket-taker for India in that format (ODIs).
“Then suddenly his name is missing. And it’s still missing. Others are playing – Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, but Mohammed Siraj is nowhere to be seen. He is not in ODIs, absent from T20Is. Why did this happen? Personally, I don’t know. When did he become a single-format player?”
The selectors have not given any official explanation, but leaving Siraj out of the ODI squad could be part of a strategy to build a stronger bench. However, banking on three inexperienced pacers — Arshdeep Singh, Harshit and Prasidh — is quite a risky move and India paid the price for the same in Raipur ODI.
The series-deciding third ODI will be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday (December 6).
