Indian skipper KL Rahul while talking about the loss against South Africa in the second ODI in Paarl on Friday (January 21) said that his side needs to get better at bowling in the middle overs.
Team India suffered yet another disappointing loss as they were thumped by South Africa by 7 wickets in the second ODI in Paarl to lose the series 0-2, with one match to go.
Batting first, after winning the toss, India was off to a decent start as they scored 63 runs for the opening partnership. But after that they lost two wickets in quick succession of time and found themselves tumbling at 64/2.
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Skipper KL Rahul (55) and Rishabh Pant (85) joined hands and stitched 115 runs partnership to steer their team out of trouble. A decent finish by Shardul Thakur (40*) and R Ashwin (25*), in the end, helped India post a total of 288 runs on the board.
Chasing the target, South Africa came out with all guns blazing as openers Quinton de Kock (78) and Janneman Malan (91) registered 132 runs partnership. After that vital 30s from Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen helped the hosts chase the target with 11 balls to spare and take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Indian skipper KL Rahul praised South Africa for the quality cricket they played and admitted that his side is making mistakes in the middle. He remarked that they take pride in winning but it’s good learning for them as they are trying to get better at things they haven’t done well in past.
"I think South Africa is playing some really good cricket at home, we are making mistakes as well in the middle. It's good learning for us. We are a team that takes a lot of pride in winning, but good learning for us and hopefully we can grow. We are trying to get better at things we haven't done well in the past," KL Rahul said.
Rahul said that partnerships in the middle-order are crucial at the big stage and they also want to improve their bowling in the middle overs. He revealed that they’ve spoken about the things they have to get better at and it’s only upto them to get better.
"Partnerships, middle-order becomes crucial when we are entering a big tournament, wanna get better at bowling in the middle overs and these are the few things which are really obvious and right in front of us. We have spoken about it and it's only up to us to get better, learn from it and find a way," he said.
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Rahul credited South African batters for putting pressure on his bowlers and chasing 280+ runs easily on a difficult pitch.
"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," he said.
While talking about the positives, KL Rahul praised Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal for their efforts in the respective two games. He added that although they fell short in the first two games, they will try to win the third match.
“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. Jasprit has been the standout bowler for us and Yuzi has been good today.
“The energy has been great, it's been tough on the body staying in the bubbles. We love challenges and we have come short in the first 2 games, we will look ahead to the third game and try and win that one,” he said.
The third match between South Africa and India will take place in Cape Town on Sunday (23rd January).
(ANI Inputs)
