Stand-in skipper KL Rahul on Thursday (January 6) termed Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane as India's best middle-order batters and added that their knocks in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test will give them the confidence to do better in the series-decider.
Pujara and Rahane were under the scanner for their poor form lately and their low scores in the first innings at the Wanderers. However, the duo proved their worth with half-centuries in the second innings, sharing a 111-run stand for the third wicket to help the visitors set a target of 240 for the Proteas.
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"They have been great players for us (on Pujara and Rahane), have always done the job for us over the years, have been under the pump recently, but we believe Pujara and Rahane are our best middle-order players, to go out there, bat in that mindset and play such an innings. It'll give them confidence and make them do even better in the next Test," said Rahul after India’s defeat in the second Test.
Chasing the target, the hosts rode on skipper Dean Elgar’s unbeaten 96 and Rassie van der Dussen’s 40 to get over the line with seven wickets in hand.
According to Rahul, the tourists were 50-60 runs short in the first innings.
"Every Test match we play, we want to win, we go out there and compete hard, but South Africa played really well and deserved this victory. We were looking to get on the field today, try and do something special, 122 to get, the pitch was playing up and down, we had a good chance, but their batters played really well," said Rahul.
"If I want to be harsh, the first innings total of 202 was at least 50-60 runs short, we should have scored more and put them under pressure. Shardul (Thakur) has been superb for us, has won us a lot of games, he bowled well in the first innings and gave us a chance today as well," he added.
Rahul led the team in this Test as regular captain Virat Kohli had an upper back spasm and was ruled out of the match.
During the game, speedster Mohammed Siraj also picked up a hamstring injury and bowled only 6 overs in India’s second innings.
"Virat is already feeling better, he's been doing a bit of fielding and think he'll be fine," said Rahul.
"With Siraj, we need to monitor him in the nets. It's tough to come back immediately from a hamstring issue, but we do have good bench strength in the form of Umesh and Ishant," he added.
With this victory, South Africa levelled the series 1-1 and the third and final Test will be played in Cape Town from January 11.
(With ANI inputs)
