KL Rahul Celebrates End of 20-Toss Losing Streak in ODI Series Against South Africa

KL Rahul Reflects on Toss Victory

After India's recent series triumph over South Africa, captain KL Rahul expressed his relief at finally breaking the team's unfortunate streak of 20 consecutive toss losses in ODIs. He humorously noted that the team had never looked at him with such pride as they did after winning the toss, which allowed them to put the Proteas in to bat first. With the toss finally in their favor, India capitalized on the opportunity, restricting South Africa to a modest score despite Quinton de Kock's century. Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav each claimed four wickets, leading to South Africa's total of 270 runs. India chased down the target efficiently, reaching it in just 39.5 overs, thanks to significant contributions from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.

Pleasing Pressure Management

KL Rahul highlighted that the team's ability to handle pressure throughout the series was particularly gratifying. He remarked, "In every match, South African batters have challenged us. Although one match in Raipur didn't go our way, we remain focused on our plans and processes, which proved effective today."

Match Summary

In the match, India won the toss and opted to field first. South Africa's innings began poorly with Ryan Rickelton dismissed for a duck. However, a solid partnership of 113 runs between Quinton de Kock (106 runs off 89 balls) and Temba Bavuma (48 runs off 67 balls) stabilized their innings. Despite this, Prasidh Krishna's impressive bowling (4 wickets for 66 runs) and Kuldeep Yadav's spell (4 wickets for 41 runs) led to South Africa being bowled out for 270 runs in 47.5 overs. India responded strongly, with Rohit Sharma scoring 75 runs and Yashasvi Jaiswal achieving his first ODI century with 116 not out, guiding India to victory alongside Virat Kohli, who contributed 65 not out.