No respite after Test collection defeat as KL Rahul’s ODI captaincy debut ends in 31-run loss

Just when it felt like Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli had been laying the inspiration for a win at Paarl, the previous was gone. Close on Dhawan’s heels, Kohli returned to the pavilion, trying in whole management till he performed an uncharacteristic sweep shot. As it turned out, chasing 297 for victory, a 92-run second wicket partnership was India’s solely piece of resistance. From 138/2, they shortly slumped to 188/6.
India misplaced the primary ODI by 31 runs.

Twice the vacationers surrendered the initiative on this sport. Allowing South Africa to make a spectacular restoration, by way of twin tons of Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen, was the primary. A sub-300 whole was nonetheless fairly gettable on a sluggish Boland Park pitch. Failure to construct on the partnership between Dhawan and Kohli hit India even more durable.

That’s that from the first ODI.
South Africa win by 31 runs.
Scorecard – https://t.co/PJ4gV8SFQb #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/NrRNxZgMNK
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2022
Wrong crew choice and atypical captaincy from KL Rahul contributed to this defeat as properly, however we might come to that later.

FIFTY!
A fast hearth half-century for @SDhawan25 within the 1st ODI.
His thirty fourth total 👏👏
Live – https://t.co/PJ4gV99ISb #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/SyPP5HGA7l
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2022

FIFTY!
A well-made half century for @imVkohli off 60 deliveries.
His 63rd in ODIs.
Live – https://t.co/PJ4gV8SFQb #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/jqym5a8saV
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2022
The day belonged to Van der Dussen specifically, for he swept the wind out of India’s sails. At 68/3, batting first, the hosts had been in hassle. On a dry floor, the ball was turning a bit. Bounce was low and Ravichandran Ashwin had simply cleaned up Quinton de Kock by making one skid off the turf. Aiden Markram’s run-out, courtesy a direct hit from Venkatesh Iyer, got here in fast succession.

RAMPAGING RASSIE👏
Rassie van der Dussen follows his captain’s lead and rockets to a half-century off 83 balls💪 #SAvIND #BetwayODISeries #BePartOfIt | @Betway_India pic.twitter.com/HR8PJRcumh
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 19, 2022
Yuzvendra Chahal on the different finish was getting the drift and making the ball flip. Van der Dussen’s response was a reverse sweep for a 4. The batsman then introduced out a traditional sweep to get one other 4 in Chahal’s subsequent over. The sweep was out once more and a 4 adopted by a pair ensued. As the leg-spinner was neutered, India lacked a Plan B.

Did you see that?👀 #SAvIND #BetwayODISeries #BePartOfIt | @Betway_India pic.twitter.com/bWLdyNIySx
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 19, 2022
Bavuma, too, grew in confidence and attacked Chahal. Together the Saffers duo began to impose themselves on Indian bowling. In sweltering warmth, the bowlers regularly ran out of steam. Bavuma finally acquired out for 110 off 143 balls within the forty ninth over. Van der Dussen remained unbeaten on 129 off 96 deliveries, together with 9 fours and 4 sixes. Together they added 204 runs for the fourth wicket, a partnership the place Van der Dussen was the enforcer and Bavuma the anchor. The Proteas posted 296/4.

BRILLIANT BAVUMA👏
The #Proteas captain goes to his second ODI century with a properly crafted innings at Boland Park🔥 #SAvIND #BetwayODISeries #BePartOfIt | @Betway_India pic.twitter.com/Rk7s8Bvsty
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 19, 2022
India ended up scoring 265/8.
Back in 2013, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers had added 171 runs for the fourth wicket towards India in an ODI at Centurion. Van der Dussen and Bavuma broke the report, each scoring their second ODI centuries, with the previous attending to his career-best.
Van de Dussen thrived on his proactive strategy.
Iyer unused as bowler
Why didn’t Rahul use Iyer in any respect as a bowler was anyone’s guess.
At the pre-match press convention, India’s stand-in skipper had spoken about how a seaming all-rounder might be an asset to the crew, providing phrases of reward for the newcomer. Iyer was handed his ODI debut, ostensibly to have an additional bowling choice, whereas Suryakumar Yadav warmed the bench. The debutant, although, was left unused regardless of Shardul Thakur leaking runs, together with a 17-run over. Rahul selected to stay to his 5 specialist bowlers, solely Jasprit Bumrah making an influence.

The optimistic takeaway for India from this sport was Dhawan’s batting. He returned to the worldwide fold after a six-month hole and middled the ball from the outset. His dealing with of Marco Jansen, the left-arm fast who created a whole lot of issues for India within the Test collection, was very spectacular. After scoring 79 off 84 balls, Dhawan was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj, misjudging the size and the flip.
Kohli was batting like a king. A wristy flick by way of mid-wicket for a 4 to a Lungi Ngidi supply that landed fairly vast exterior the off stump, was simply the shot of the match. The subsequent ball, virtually equivalent, was pushed to sweeper cowl. Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries, however but once more, he did not convert. An tried sweep towards Tabraiz Shamsi was somewhat uncharacteristic. The ball hardly arrived and hit the toe-end of the bat.

Across codecs, India have now misplaced three video games on the spin in a tour the place they went as overwhelming favourites. Yet once more, India’s middle-order batting left a lot to be desired. Catching, wasn’t as much as scratch both. Also, at a venue that provided a house really feel, Indian spinners had been outbowled by their South African counterparts. While Ashwin and Chahal gave away 106 runs between them for a wicket; Shamsi, Maharaj and part-timer Markram – he opened the bowling – accounted for 4 scalps, conceding 124 runs.