NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa hammered India in the first two One-Day Internationals and stand-in skipper KL Rahul said the Men in Blue want to keep improving and make sure they don’t make these mistakes in big tournaments. The 29-year-old said India will have to find a way to pick up more wickets in the middle-overs, something that they have been struggling with for quite some time now. India managed to post a solid total of 287 in the second ODI but South Africa hunted it down with seven wickets to spare.
"I think South Africa are playing some really good cricket at home, we are making mistakes as well in the middle. It's a good learning for us. We are a team that takes a lot of pride in winning, but a good learning for us and hopefully we can grow," said Rahul at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"We are trying to get better at things we haven't done well in the past. 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."
India started the South Africa tour with a superb win but have been way below-par since then. They lost the last two Tests of the three-match series and have now already conceded the three-match ODI series with one game to go. "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,” said Rahul.
“Credit to them, they are showing us the importance of partnerships and putting pressure early on against the bowlers. 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 two games, we will look ahead to the third game and try and win that one."
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli scored fifties in the first ODI, while Rahul and Rishabh Pant did the same in the second encounter, but none of them went on to score a big century. However, Shardul Thakur has been impressive with the bat in this series, with scores of 50* and 40*. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah has been at his best once again.
"The way Shikhar and Virat batted in the first game was very good, and today the way Rishabh batted, the way he managed the first 20 balls and then took down the spinners was amazing. He is a really important member of the team and Shardul too, showing us he can bat lower down and make good contributions. Jasprit has been the standout bowler for us and Yuzi too was good today," said Rahul.
Meanwhile, South African skipper Temba Bavuma heaped heavy praise on his team. Chasing a big score, Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock got South Africa off to a solid start before Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen finished the job with almost two overs to spare.
"We wanted to win the series but weren't really expecting it to do so after two games. A lot of positives to take from our performances. Great to have him (QDK) in the side and he reminded us again why he is such a valuable player for us. As a team, we have a lot of self-belief and confidence in our abilities. We are not a team that prides itself on having superstars or relying on individual performances. We really try and put in a team effort," said Bavuma.
"Coming into this series from the Test side, no-one had much faith in us and that gave us a lot of motivation. The performances in the last month have been really good. Spinners have done a splendid job. It's a great thing. We pride ourselves on fast bowlers, but to see the spin bowlers winning the game for us that really makes us a side to reckon against."
De Kock, who smoked 78 off 66 deliveries, was named player of the match. The wicketkeeper-batter, who announced his retirement from Test cricket during the India series, smashed seven fours and three sixes and also pulled off a stunning stumping to get rid of Venkatesh Iyer.
"Good to get out there and score some runs. Quite nice to be out there and bat some time. I was feeling good towards the end there. I think me and Janneman are both similar players and we have a great understanding," he said.