KL Rahul would not like his start as Indian captain. India lost their first One Day International against South Africa by 31 runs. South Africa opted to bat first and struggled in the opening half of their innings before Temba Bavuma and Van Der Dussen scored centuries to help Proteas put 296 on the board. Bavuma had to work hard for his 110 but Van Der Dussen looked to be playing on a different surface as he made an unbeaten 129. It was never an easy task to chase down 297 on the challenging surface for the batters.

Not The Best Start For KL Rahul As The ODI Captain After Losing His First Test As Skipper

India, after losing KL Rahul early, were looking for favourites to win it when both Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were on the crease. Dhawan made a fantastic 79 on his return to the Indian lineup as Kohli got out just after he scored a half-century. The men in Blues were cruising at the halfway mark but after Dhawan and Kohli’s dismissals, South Africa came right back in the game and another Indian batting collapse followed. Shardul Thakur did contribute with a quickfire half-century but it was not enough in the end.

Rahul, on his first post-match conference as India’s ODI captain, said that the middle overs in both innings cost them. The part-time skipper also said that the management is trying to make the best XI for the upcoming 2023 ICC World Cup and they are learning from the mistakes.

“It was a nice game. There is so much to learn. Started off really well, we could not get wickets in the middle. Will look to see how we get wickets in the middle overs and stop the opposition,” Rahul stated at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“In the middle-order, we could not get going. Were on par for the first 20-25 overs of the game. I thought we would chase it down easily but SA bowled really well and got crucial wickets.”

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir is not impressed with the field placing of Rahul in the first ODI as he suggests that it should have been more attacking at some phases when Bavuma and Van Der Dussen were batting.

What Did Gautam Gambhir And Dale Steyn Say About Rahul’s Captaincy?

“One thing I would have wanted to see is attacking fielding placements. I expected a slip, gully, and gully point for Yuzvendra Chahal after Aiden Markram was dismissed. When Ashwin came into bowl, you could have put a leg slip or short-leg in place. You don’t want to necessarily get the batsmen out; the point is that the bowler will only bowl according to the fieldset for him.” – Gambhir.

The last time India visited South Africa for limited-overs bilateral series, they registered a 5-1 series win but this time it is only a three-game series where India cannot afford to lose another game. Dale Steyn suggests that KL Rahul don’t have much time to correct the mistakes and turn around the fortunes in India’s favour after he has failed to win a game as a skipper in both Test and ODI formats.

“If you look at KL, do not think he did anything wrong with his captaincy. He had a good day. But there were just those little differences, the little bit of planning that was the difference between India and the Proteas. South Africa was walking up to the bowlers, India stayed in their crease. It is the little things KL is going to get better at,” Steyn

“He has got only 24 hours to turn this whole thing around. So today was a good day for them. They must have learnt from South Africa what they did right,” added Steyn.

Scorecard

South Africa 296 for 4 (van der Dussen 129*, Bavuma 110, Bumrah 2-48)

India 265 for 8 (Dhawan 79, Kohli 51, Thakur 50*, Ngidi 2-64, Shamsi 2-52, Phehlukwayo 2-26)