IND vs SA: Watch - Rajat Patidar Receives Debut ODI Cap From KL Rahul

21 December 2023 will be one of the very special days for Indian batsman Rajat Patidar as he made his international debut for the Men in Blue in the third SA vs IND ODI match. Patidar received his cap from Indian captain KL Rahul and has come in place of injured opener Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Rajat Patidar, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, missed the 2023 edition of the tournament due to injury. However, after recovering from his injury, he scored 174 runs from six matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 at an average of 34.80. His highest score was 68*.

Apart from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2o23, Rajat Patidar played a fiery 27-ball 70-run knock against Nagaland in the 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy which included nine fours and five sixes. Rajat slammed 270 runs from six games at an average and strike rate of 40.00 and 100.84 respectively.

Watch: Rajat Patidar Receives Debut ODI Cap

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Rajat Patidar’s extraordinary IPL knock against LSG

Rajat Patidar is mostly remembered for his match-winning 112-run innings against the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League 2022 Eliminator. With big names such as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis dismissed early, Patidar came in at three and hit 12 fours and seven sixes throughout his innings and took the team to 207/4. However, LSG were not able to chase down the target and were restricted to 193/6.

Rajat Patidar is one of the future superstars of the Indian cricket team who will aim to cement his place in the team by performing well against the Proteas.

Getting back to the India vs South Africa ODI series, it has been an interesting series so far as in the first two games, the first match belonged to India whereas the hosts emerged victorious in the second game. The point to be noted from here is both the teams have won the first two games in a dominant and one-sided manner.

It was India’s Arshdeep Singh’s 5-wicket haul in the first ODI match played in Johannesburg whereas in the second match, it was young Proteas opener Tony de Zorzi’s century. 

With the series decider being played at Boland Park in Paarl, both the teams have a chance of winning the series. The Indian team will be batting first and will want to set a big score against a power-packed South African batting lineup.

The Indian cricket team on one end, who are also the number one ranked ODI side, have the likes of young opener Sai Sudharsan, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and captain KL Rahul, who are the match winners of the team and can play a crucial role in the team’s win in the third ODI match.

The bowling department consists of Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan, who have all the ability to restrict the opposition batsmen and help the ‘Men in Blue’ take the series home.

The Proteas on the other hand also have players such as captain Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller who can prove to be handy against the Indian team.