After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma came up with defining knocks against South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi on Sunday, India skipper KL Rahul marvelled at the ability of the stalwarts to make the opposition look “silly”.
India celebrated a close 17-run victory over the Proteas to grab a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with Kohli scoring his 52nd ODI century (135 off 120 balls) and Rohit scoring a masterful 57.
“Watching Rohit and Kohli play like that is always fun. They’ve made oppositions look silly and show why they are who they are. I’ve seen this for a long time, it’s a lot more fun to see them around in the dressing room,” said Rahul in the post-match presentation.
However, the close nature of the encounter made him a bit concerned towards the finish.
“I’d be lying if I said there were no butterflies in my stomach. We’re playing ODI cricket after a while. There’s some expectation. But we kept taking wickets and the bowlers stuck to their plans. They pushed us and kept coming hard.”
The wicketkeeper-batter said batting at No. 6 proved to be a valuable new learning experience.
“Batting at No. 6 is okay, got to do the job for the team. That’s the role I’ve been given in the last 2-3 series. It’s helping personal development.”
Rahul praised Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana for maintaining composure throughout a high-scoring game.
“Harshit’s done really well, we knew he has potential. He’s tall and can bowl fast, he can give runs in the back end but he has great potential. To get crucial new-ball wickets is what we expect. Kuldeep is doing this job, key for us to take wickets.”
In order to keep the batters guessing, Kuldeep, who claimed four wickets, claimed to be varying his deliveries.
“When I came after the first spell, I had a chat with KL. We wanted to attack despite it being tough to bowl as wickets were important. I was mixing up the scrambled seam and seam up. Just tried to go back of the length. It was easy to connect off a full length.”
Kuldeep remarked that the one ball rule after 34 overs was hard.
“It was very challenging, the ball was getting really wet. We kept putting dust and asked the umpire for a replacement, that was the plan. We saw a couple of great innings from Bosch and Jansen, as we wanted to get a wicket.
“I bowled a few balls slower through the air, but you can’t just rely on stock balls. You have to mix things up and keep batters guessing. That was my plan.”
Aiden Markram, the captain of South Africa, stated that they can improve small plays in the upcoming games.
“Proud of the chase. Great to watch guys do their thing and never lose belief. All of us were quietly hopeful.
“Top order falling was defining. Still felt like chasing was the best way to win, but the top order fell early. Small bits of pieces to do better.”
