Following Team India’s loss in the third ODI against South Africa in Cape Town on Sunday (January 23), skipper KL Rahul said that the shot selection of the batters was poor and they are disappointed to be on the losing side.
After being thrashed by South Africa in the first two games, Team India put up a great fight in the dead-rubber third ODI but in the end, they fell short by just 4 runs as the Proteas completed a 3-0 whitewash.
Bowling first, after winning the toss, India started off well as they reduced South Africa to 70/3 at one stage. However, a 144-run partnership between Quinton de Kock (124) and Rassie van der Dussen (51) put the Proteas in a comfortable position and a late finish by David Miller (39) helped them post a total of 287 runs on the board.
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Chasing the target, after India lost skipper KL Rahul early, Shikhar Dhawan (61) and Virat Kohli (65) batted brilliantly for their 98-run partnership and it seemed that the visitors will carve their way to an easy victory. But few quick wickets changed the complexion of the match as they found themselves tumbling at 210/6.
Deepak Chahar then revived the hopes of Indian fans with his valiant 34-ball 54 knock. But he failed to take his team home as after his wicket South Africa then took the last two wickets in quick time to seal a 3-0 whitewash.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Indian skipper KL Rahul said that Deepak Chahar gave the side a chance of winning the match but they were disappointed to end on the losing side. He added that his team gave themselves a chance and will only learn and get better from there.
"Deepak Chahar gave us a real chance of winning the game. Quite an exciting game, just disappointed we ended up on the losing side. We gave ourselves a real chance, something we can learn from and get better. Quite obvious where we've gone wrong. No shying away from it,” KL Rahul said.
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KL Rahul admitted that his side’s shot selection was poor and they didn’t hit the right areas with the ball as well as a result of which they failed to put pressure over a long period.
He added that it’s still the early phase in their journey to the World Cup and will have hard conversations regarding their performances.
"At times our shot selection has been poor. Even with the ball, we haven't been hitting the right areas consistently. Have played well in patches but haven't built pressure over a long period. Can't fault the boys for their passion and effort. In terms of skill and understanding the situation - sometimes we've gone wrong.
“But it happens - we've got some new guys in the team. In the one-day series at times we've kept doing the same mistakes. It's early in our journey to the World Cup. We can go back, have some hard conversations. Have had a great time in SA. Have been looked after really well. We've shown a lot of fight," he said.
Team India will next be seen in action when they will lock horns against West Indies in three ODIs and three T20Is, starting 6th February.
(ANI Inputs)
