India captain KL Rahul has asked his players to trust their game plans while playing as a team after their second ODI loss to South Africa on December 19. South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bowl first, a decision that worked for them as India was restricted to 211 runs. Despite the fifties from opener Sai Sudharsan and skipper KL Rahul, Team India couldn’t do well under the pace attack led by Nandre Burger, who picked up three wickets.
Chasing a modest target of 212, South Africa’s Tony de Zorzi smashed an unbeaten 119, guiding his side to a comfortable eight-wicket win along with Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. This win allowed South Africa to level the series 1-1 as well. Speaking after the loss at the post-match presentation, KL Rahul said that he would have wanted to win the toss as there were some assistance for the bowlers on the pitch as well. He also rued the failure to convert the starts he and Sai got during the match as well.
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“Probably win the toss. Could have started there. But there was some assistance for the bowlers in the first half. But Sai and me got starts and we could have pounced on the opportunity and score big to take the total above 250. When we batted, we thought close to 250 would have bee good. So that’s what we were hoping for. But we lost wickets at regular intervals and they got help from the surface,” said Rahul.
KL Rahul further added that there is no right or wrong in cricket. He also expressed his disappointment in the dropped catch early on in the game. Rahul also shared that he wants the team to refocus and leave behind the loss and focus on the next one as well.
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“I guess each individual’s game plan varies. You have to trust that when playing as a team. There is no right or wrong in cricket. You try to do the job for the team when playing and give them confidence which will help them become good cricketer. There was some help for the bowlers. We got one catch but we failed to hold onto it. We could have held it but I guess there was more help in the first half. It’s the same thing. We leave whatever happens on the ground and focus on the next match and try and win it,” concluded KL Rahul.
