KL Rahul delighted with Team India’s dominant performance against South Africa

India completed a dominant showdown against South Africa as they secured the ODI series by a 2-1 margin. KL Rahul led the team successfully as they turned things around after a difficult outing in the Test series. Talking at the post-match presentation, KL Rahul opened up on the conditions of the game while pulling off a quick word about the toss.

Highlighting the ground’s fettle, Rahul said, “The first was the toss, I don't think the team has looked at me and smiled so much and have been more proud of me for doing anything other than winning this toss. Yeah, it was really crucial. You can see how the ground is at the moment. We got tough conditions in the first two games. So, it was good to give the bowlers a break in a wet outfield.”

Talking about how the Indian bowlers made good use of the surface, Rahul said, “It was still a really good wicket, what we were able to do was pick up wickets in bunches. And we know with teams that go so hard, it can either be a 400 chase or sometimes play one too many shots and get out and that's what happened. We were able to squeeze in the middle. Prasidh picked up those two or three wickets in a spell which was really crucial. And then Kuldeep coming in, picking two wickets in an over.”

He further added, “So, in ODI cricket, that's how you try and contain teams. That's how you can win games of cricket - picking up wickets. That's the only way you can stop teams. The way he (de Kock) was batting ... when he get out, it was 180 or something and he was already batting on 120. It shows that the set batter obviously felt the wicket was a bit different. For guys coming in, it was much harder. So, it was a really crucial wicket at that point. “

He concluded by talking about the series win, adding, “Yeah, that's the most pleasing thing about the series is how we've been able to hold our nerves and how we've been able to handle the pressure. In all the games, the batters from South Africa have been able to come in with that sort of an intent to come and put our bowlers under pressure. And the bowlers have really held their nerve. One result that didn't go our way. But like I said, at the toss, we're not really upset or not really thinking too much about it. Because I think the stuff that we've been doing, the planning that we've done and the processes that they've followed and they've been consistent with that. So, today was one instance where doing the same thing paid off.”