IND vs SA: KL Rahul Achieves Special Milestone In Paarl ODI

KL Rahul is currently leading India in the first ODI against South Africa in Paarl. In the process, he has become only the third cricketer to lead India in ODIs without having led in List A cricket previously. South African skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat first. The hosts had previously won the Test series 2-1 heading into the ODI series.

Before KL Rahul, Syed Kirmani and Virender Sehwag are the only two Indian cricketers to have led the team without any prior experience of leading in List A Cricket. Rahul is also leading India in his 39th ODI. Only Mohinder Amarnath (35th ODI) has led India before completing 50 ODI games for India.

Rohit Sharma is ruled out from the ODI series with a hamstring injury. He has not recovered in time to be available for the ODIs after missing the Test series as well. Virat Kohli is playing as a player and under someone else’s captaincy for the first time since 2016. Venkatesh Iyer was handed his debut ODI cap ahead of the start of the game.

Speaking at the toss, KL Rahul spoke about the impact and importance of Virat Kohli as a player now that he has been relieved of captaincy duties across formats.

Toss News – South Africa have won the toss and elect to bat first in the 1st ODI.

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“Last couple of days and right after Tests there was a lot going on. Emotional for the team (Kohli stepping down). Lot of us have debuted under Virat. Obviously he’s still with us and integral part of the team,” he said at the toss.

“Just want to try out few things in terms of tactics and strategies. Personnel will not change much. Want to give them a good run. Experimentation doesn’t mean we’ll go in and start hitting from ball one” said Rahul further regarding his strategy heading into the game.

Having lost the Test series, the Indian team would like to prove a point and get back to winning ways in the process.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Watch – Ravichandran Ashwin Knocks Over Quinton de Kock In First ODI