Cricket

SA vs IND 2022: The middle-order couldn’t get going – KL Rahul

India’s ODI captain KL Rahul admitted that the middle-order couldn’t get going after his team lost the first ODI against South Africa by 31 runs at Boland Park, Paarl on Wednesday.

South Africa posted a par score of 296 runs after Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first.

The Proteas lost three early wickets however Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen scored fine centuries to help their team register a competitive score. On the other hand, India was going strong in the run-chase after former skipper Virat Kohli and opener Shikhar Dhawan added 92 runs for the second wicket.

But the visitors lost seven wickets for 76 runs and could only manage 265 runs. Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Venkatesh Iyer were dismissed in quick succession as India’s middle-order once again failed to get going. India went from 138-1 to 188-6 as the middle-order disappointed with their performance.

Rahul also feels they conceded 20 runs more than would have liked as they failed to pick up wickets in the middle overs. Rassie van der Dussen took the aggressor role while Temba Bavuma played a second fiddle as the duo added 204 runs for the fourth-wicket alliance.

KL Rahul said in the post-match presentation, “It was a nice game. There’s so much to learn. We started off really well, we couldn’t get wickets in the middle. We’ll look to see how we get wickets in the middle overs and stop the opposition. The middle-order couldn’t get going. We 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. I didn’t bat after the 20th over, I don’t know if it changed drastically. Virat and Shikhar told that it was a good wicket to bat on, you just had to spend some time in the middle, unfortunately, we couldn’t get the partnership going”.

Rahul gave credit to the opposition for posting a par score but rued the fact that his team couldn’t get the partnerships going in their batting innings.

Rahul added, “They did really well, they put pressure on the bowlers and we couldn’t get those wickets in the middle. 290+ was 20 runs extra, but we just needed more partnerships in the middle. Every game is important for us, we all want to go out there and give our best performances. We haven’t played one-day cricket for a while, we have the WC in mind and we want to get the best XI on the park. We’ll make mistakes but we’ll learn from them”.

The second ODI between South Africa and India will be played at the same venue of Paarl on Friday.

About the Author


Written by DafaNews

DafaNews brings you the most highlighted news in the world of Sports. It serves you up-to-date matches, scores, live streams, fantasy games and quizzes. Our news covers India's prestigious leagues and events – Premier League, Pro Kabbadi League, Cricket World Cup and many more. Follow DafaNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,Telegram and Youtube for more updates.

Related Post
Share
Published by
DafaNews

Recent Posts

“Never expected a very easy run” – Gautam Gambhir reflects on his tenure as coach after IND vs NZ 2024 Test series defeat

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted that he never expected a very easy run… Read More

October 31, 2024

Probably has a lot to do with playing on flat wickets in T20 – Gautam Gambhir on decline of good defensive technique in Test cricket

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir feels T20 cricket has led to the downfall of a… Read More

October 31, 2024

India needs Mumbai Test win before Australia tour – Gautam Gambhir

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir feels the Rohit Sharma-led team desperately needs to win the… Read More

October 31, 2024

I cannot say just the batters have let us down – Gautam Gambhir feels everyone should take responsibility for series loss against New Zealand

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to blame the batters after the team’s 2-0 series… Read More

October 31, 2024

It was insane – Bronny James after scoring his first NBA bucket

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James was on cloud nine after he managed to score… Read More

October 31, 2024

I’m happy with my team’s performance: Mohun Bagan SG head coach Jose Molina after win against Hyderabad FC

Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina was delighted with the team’s performance after… Read More

October 31, 2024