IND vs SA | Our shot selection has been poor, opines KL Rahul
KL Rahul has opined that the shot selection from Indian batsmen has been poor after losing the three match ODI series against South Africa by 3-0. Rahul also added that the bowlers have been unable to bowl in right areas consistently and didn’t built pressure for a long period over opposition.
India lost the final ODI of the three match series against South Africa by four runs and the series by 3-0. Batting first, South Africa scored 287 runs in the first innings. Quinton de Kock played a knock of 124 runs for the team while Prasidh Krishna picked three wickets for 59 runs in his spell.
Chasing the target, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli scored half-centuries but wickets fell in quick succession after the dismissal of Dhawan. Deepak Chahar scored 54 runs from 33 balls and got India close to the finish line but loss of three wickets at the end resulted in four run win to South Africa.
India captain KL Rahul praised Chahar for his knock and also admitted that the shot selection from batsmen have been poor.
"Deepak gave us a real chance of winning the game. Quite an exciting game, just disappointed we ended up on the losing side. We gave ourselves a real chance, something we can learn from and get better. Quite obvious where we've gone wrong. No shying away from it. At times our shot selection has been poor," Rahul said in the post-match presentation.
Indian bowlers were struggled throughout the series to dismiss opposition batsmen. They picked only four wickets in the first ODI and then picked three wickets in the second ODI. Lack of wickets in the middle overs was an issue of concern for the team. Rahul said that the bowlers haven’t been hitting the ball in the right areas consistently to achieve success.
"Even with the ball we haven't been hitting the right areas consistently. Have played well in patches but haven't built pressure over a long period. Can't fault the boys for the passion and effort. In terms of skill and understanding the situation - sometimes we've gone wrong. But it happens - we've got some new guys in the team," he stated.
This was the fifth instance when the Indian team was whitewashed in a three match ODI series. The team had been unable to register a single win in their last five international fixtures. India will be looking forward to preparing for the ODI World Cup scheduled to be played next year. Rahul revealed that the team will have some hard conversations after the tour.
"It's early in our journey to the World Cup. We can go back, have some hard conversations. Have had a great time in SA. Have been looked after really well. We've shown a lot of fight,” he concluded.