KL Rahul’s first stint as India’s ODI captain started against South Africa

Times are tough for the Indian men’s cricket team as the Men in Blue, who have been a formidable force on home soil for years, lost a Test series at the hands of South Africa. Things do not look great for the ODI squad either, who have been struggling and are now hoping to turn things around against the Proteas in the three-match ODI series.

With Shubman Gill out due to a neck injury, KL Rahul comes in as the stand-in captain of the team, a player who started his ODI captaincy stint with a series against the Proteas, and even his last series as India’s captain was against South Africa.

India tour of South Africa 2021/2022

The Men in Blue visited South Africa for a tour in 2021/2022, which included a three-match ODI series. Captaining the side was KL Rahul, for whom it was his first assignment donning the captain’s armband.

(Credit- ESPNcricinfo)

In the first game, KL Rahul scored 12 runs, but India lost by 31 runs. In the second game, Captain Rahul’s bat made some improvement, hitting 55 runs. However, India also lost the second game by seven wickets. India’s third game was no different, as it lost by four runs, getting whitewashed by the host, whereas Rahul’s batting dipped again, with only five runs coming from his willow.

India tour of South Africa 2023/2024

KL Rahul’s last stint as India’s captain was also against South Africa in 2023/2024. In the first match of that ODI series, India won by 200 balls and eight wickets, but Rahul did not get an opportunity to bat. The second game saw Rahul score 56 runs, but South Africa also fought back to level the series. Finally, in game three, Sanju Samson’s 108 ensured India a victory under Rahul’s captaincy, though he himself made only 21 runs in that game.

(Credit- Hotstar)

If we go by Rahul’s history as captain of India against the Proteas in ODIs, he has only two victories out of six games and not many runs to boast of.

Overall statistics

Surprisingly, although Rahul has captained India in only 12 ODI matches, he has a 66% win rate, with eight wins and four losses. In 12 matches, he batted in 10 innings, scoring 302 runs at an average of 33.55, including four half-centuries.

(Credit- The Indian Express)

In the upcoming series, KL Rahul will definitely need to put runs on the board if he wishes to steer India to a much-needed ODI series victory after the Test embarrassment.

The first match between India and South Africa goes live on November 30 at 1:30 p.m.