KL Rahul will have to improve his leadership significantly when he takes on India against South Africa in the second ODI on Thursday with the ambitions of a three-match series and his long-term Test captaincy going.
Rahul was mediocre at best in terms of “thinking on his feet”, something that is fundamental to the art of captaincy, and did not even see a role with the bat in the 31-run loss in the opening ODI, where India were the better side of the game. Outplayed for the part.
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The middle order, which was a problem from Virat Kohli’s tough days as captain, is still sticking out like a sore thumb and no one knows exactly what the solution is.
Once again, it was a case of an opener – Shikhar Dhawan on this occasion – and the indomitable Kohli’s fortress before the middle-order fell on a slow pitch where it was turn and the ball was caught, leading to a run-off. . -Mil seamer Andile Phehlukwayo is looking formidable.
South Africa crushed India both strategically as well as skillfully and therein raised serious questions about Rahul’s wealth as captain.
The most pressing question was what was Venkatesh Iyer actually doing in the team if he was not bowling at least four to five overs as the sixth bowler when Yuzvendra Chahal and Shardul Thakur were replaced by Rasi van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma. was being taken to the cleaners by?
Read also: Dhawan continued to fight and improve despite the lack of opportunities
If Venkatesh is playing as a specialist batsman at No.6 why not use Suryakumar Yadav, who is more experienced with better strokes under pressure?
The next question was whether Rahul spoke to Chahal or to Ashwin when van der Dussen and Bavuma started playing the sweep shot – both conventional and reverse sweeps on a good batting line-up.
There wasn’t a singularly inspired bowling change, unlike the Proteas, which made the first introduction of Aiden Markram’s off-break and bottled up the Indian captain.
When India batted, the game was lost in the halfway stage when Dhawan and Kohli were dismissed in quick succession after their 90-plus stands. Suddenly the bar on which batting seemed easy has become difficult.
Shreyas Iyer’s well-documented struggles against the short ball were reveled for the day and the Mumbaikar will know that a place in the Indian playing XI comes at a premium and he cannot waste chances like a millionaire.
But given the blueprint of Rahul Dravid, he will get his share of opportunities.
On slow pitches where it is necessary to rotate the strike, Rishabh Pant and two Iyers will have to play a big role.
Similarly, Shardul Thakur, despite his half-century, which came after the end of the match as a competition and had no target pressure, has to measure up as a bowler which is his primary skill.
Read also: Shikhar Dhawan Rues Middle-Order Collapse
Scoring 70-plus runs in his 10-over spell with too many loose deliveries did not help the team, and even Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked disappointed as he returned to the national playing XI after the tour of Sri Lanka.
The difference between the two sides was how the spinners fared – Ashwin and Chahal conceded 106 for a wicket in their combined 20 overs, while Markram, Tabrez Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj bowled 26 overs for 124 runs between them and Took four wickets between them. ,
“It was the kind of wicket that we bring back home. It was not the typical South African wicket. There was turn (on offer) in the wicket, and the ball was also staying straight, so it was not easy for the new batsmen to score runs,” senior batsman Dhawan had said after the match.
“The set batsmen’s plan was to take it deep but unfortunately I got out on the ball which was too bent and I didn’t expect it, but yes it happens,” he said.
Test captaincy is a different ball game than white ball but Rahul knows only too well that when it comes to decision making, top officials tend to back down on their references.
And a series loss against South Africa isn’t going to bode well for him unless the head coach is intent on trying to oust him.
full squad
India: KL Rahul (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Zubair Hamza, Marco Jensen, Janman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwayne Pretoriz, Kagas Shamsi, Rasi Van der Dussen, Kyle Veren.
The match will start at 2 PM IST.
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