South Africa defeated Team India once again in the second ODI to wrap up the ODI series at home. After winning the toss, India stand-in captain KL Rahul decided to bat first. After getting dismissed early in the first game, KL Rahul showed a glimpse of his class and made 55. Rishabh Pant’s 71 ball 85 and another good cameo of 40 not out from Shardul Thakur helped India post 287 on the board at the end of 50 overs. It looked like a competitive total before South Africa’s dominance started with the bat. Janneman Malan (91 of 108) and Quinton De Cock’s (78 of 66) 132 runs opening stand put direct pressure on Indian bowlers. The Proteas chased the total down quite comfortably and pocketed the series.
Let’s look at some talking points from the second ODI between Team India and South Africa
KL Rahul’s Captaincy:
It is looking like the Indian team have gone one or two steps backwards after Kohli was removed as ODI captain by the BCCI. The stand-in skipper KL Rahul is yet to impress and show what he has got in his locker to lead the Indian team as he faces yet another defeat. Questions are raised about his bowling changes and fielding set up in every game and the opposition team is fully making a count of that.
In the second ODI, when India needed to pick wickets, Rahul decided to give the ball to Venkatesh Iyer instead of giving Ashwin and Chahal longer spells in the middle overs. The energy levels and body language of all the players under him are not looking best and Rahul believes that the players are struggling in hot weather conditions in South Africa.
KL Rahul admitted that his team is making mistakes and they are still in a learning process after Virat Kohli’s tenure as captain ended.
“I think they are playing some really good cricket at home, we are making mistakes as well in the middle. It is a good learning for us. We are a team that takes a lot of pride in winning, but it is a good learning for us. Hopefully, we can grow. We are trying to get better at things we have not done well in the past,” KL Rahul said on Friday.
Virat Kohli 14th ODI duck
It is the first time when a spinner dismissed Kohli for a duck in the ODI’s. after scoring a half-century in the last game, Kohli went to the dressing room without troubling the scorers and it was his 14th duck in One Day cricket.
India’s middle-order collapse
After Rahul and Pant’s 115 runs partnership, India’s middle-order batters had the stage set for posting a big total but once again Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer could not take their chances. Shreyas in particular looked totally out of form and got out after scoring only 11. It was once again Shardul Thakur (40* of 38) and Ravi Ashwin’s (25* of 24) batting that helped India post a competitive score of 287.
Wicket-takers are missing in the bowling of Team India
Apart from Jasprit Bumrah (1/37 in 10 overs), no Indian bowler really troubled South Africa batters. A brilliant 132 runs opening stand showed how poor India’s bowling attack was on the day. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravi Ashwin went for plenty of runs and failed to pick up a single wicket.
