Many people believe that KL Rahul will be the next Indian Captain. Going into the South Africa trip, KL Rahul was well aware that he would be taking over as skipper in the one-day internationals (ODIs) owing to the unavailability of regular captain Rohit Sharma.
However, once Virat Kohli was forced out of the second test with an injury, he found himself thrust into the limelight far sooner than expected. KL Rahul’s leadership stint did not get off to a good start as the hosts defeated India by seven wickets in the first match of the series.
His maiden match as India’s One-Day International skipper culminated in another victory for the Proteas. For those keeping track, Rahul’s captaincy score is 0-2 at this point.
While India’s performance in the Test match under Rahul’s leadership was erratic, the team’s loss in the One-Day International (ODI) on Sunday was not entirely unexpected. After a promising start, the visitors slowed down, but South Africa never let go of the initiative and inflicted another loss on India.
Here are some of the key talking topics that KL Rahul will need to address for Team India going into the second match.
#3 Team India’s long-overdue worry is the middle order’s fragility.
The middle-order batting of India has been a big source of worry. India’s middle-order mishandled the side’s strong start, which was courtesy of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, as was obvious in the Test series as well.
Ajinkya Rahane and Chesteshwar Pujara were among the Indian batters who had the worst performances in the Test series, finishing in the bottom three. In the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were unable to capitalise on their strong start. In the span of a few overs, India surged from 138/1 to 188/6 on the board.
This Indian team features a plethora of bright talents who can completely dominate any opponent. Inconsistency, on the other hand, is a greater source of worry for India as the team looks to plan for the T20 World Cup later this year as well as the 50 overs cricket World Cup in India in 2023.
#2 South Africa’s success mantra emphasises the importance of remaining in the game.
RVD Dussen, South Africa’s century scorer, expressed his delight after winning the match:
“When it comes to batting, runs and milestones are your money, and it is not something that can be ignored. Our ability to remain in the struggle for a longer period was the difference between us and India.”
South Africa got off to a shaky start, and the runs were hard to come by for them. Captain Temba Bavuma and Dussen, on the other hand, hung in there in the middle and were rewarded for their efforts in the latter overs.
South Africa recognised the necessity of remaining on the field in the second Test as well. They applied pressure to the Indian bowling attack, rotated the strike, and did not waste a single opportunity to knock the poor balls away in the process.
#1 KL Rahul’s uninspiring bowling changes alter the game.
Jaspreet Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin were put into the team for the second test on Day 4, after a delayed start on Day 3. While Bumrah caused problems for Dean Elgar and Dussen, Ashwin seemed to be largely untrouble the batsmen.
Even though Mohammad Shami came in late, he bowled a little fuller against both batters. Although Shardul Thakur applied pressure to Dussen, his edges were drawn to the empty slip cordon.
Additionally, on a sluggish pitch in the first One-Day International, KL Rahul leaned largely on Ashwin and Chahal, who both failed to bother Bavuma and Dussen. After that, he turned to Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the middle overs, leaving the death overs to the comparatively inexperienced Shardul Thakur to handle.
Venkatesh Iyer, who is in the team as the designated all-rounder, was not used in any way by KL Rahul. A total of 86 runs were scored off the last 10 overs, including a 17-run final over from Shardul Thakur.
KL Rahul is a bright young talent for Indian cricket, and he is unquestionably a strong candidate for a position of leadership in the long term. However, he must spend time with Rahul Dravid to pick up on the tiny details and characteristics of leadership.
