‘Nice to get back after disappointing world cup’ – KL Rahul on India’s ODI series win against South Africa

India and South Africa recently met for the 3rd ODI match of India’s tour of South Africa. South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl and Indian batters entered the field in the hope of putting a high score on the board. The Indian squad put 296 runs on the board within 50 overs in the first innings of the match. 

The middle-order batsman Sanju Samson scored a century after long and scored 108 runs off 114 balls with a strike rate of 94.74. The other middle-order batters Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh also put on a great show and scored 52 and 38 runs each off 77 and 27 balls respectively, taking India to the highest score on a slow wicket. 

South Africa got a huge lead as their opening batter Tony de Zorzi scored 81 runs in just 87 balls, but their middle order gradually began to collapse as the team got dismissed for 218 runs in 45.5 overs, making India win the third ODI match the ODI series. 

 It’s about making their roles clear – KL Rahul reflects on India’s ODI series victory against South Africa

In the post-match ceremony, Indian captain KL Rahul talked about the series win after ODI World Cup 2023 loss and said, “Always love being around the boys. Nice to get back on the cricket field after a disappointing World Cup. Have played with a lot of them in the IPL, nice to get out here and play with them. Usually my message is to always enjoy the game, to give your best and not worry about the rest.” 

Further while talking about the squad he said, “They’re great cricketers but few of them haven’t played internationally so it’s about giving them some time to adjust. It’s about making their roles clear and they all gave their 100% so nothing more I can ask. Sanju has been a phenomenal performer in the IPL, unfortunately hasn’t got a lot of chances at the top of the order for various reasons but nice to see him do well today.”