How KL Rahul snapped India’s toss jinx in ODIs during series decider against South Africa in Vizag
India finally won the toss in an ODI after losing 20 in a row, with KL Rahul opting to field in the third and final match against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. Rahul decided to try something new with the coin on Saturday and it paid off.
Luck was finally on KL Rahul’s side on Saturday as India won a toss in a One-Day International for the first time in two years, opting to field in the
third and final ODI against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. The Men in Blue had lost 20 tosses in a row before the series decider in Vizag, including in Ranchi and Raipur in the ongoing series in which Rahul is filling in for the injured Shubman Gill as captain.
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How Rahul influenced the toss in India’s favour in Vizag?
Rahul decided to try something different on Saturday – flip the coin with his left hand instead of right. And in the end, he did a little mini celebration in the form of a fist pump when he realised that the coin had fallen in the Men in Blue’s favour for a change.
And given how much of an influence dew has had so far in the ODI series, with the Men in Blue unable to defend 359 in Raipur partly due to this reason, it was a no-brainer for Rahul to choose to field at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
Both teams made changes to their lineup, with India bringing middle-order batter Tilak Varma in place of spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar. South Africa, meanwhile, were forced to make two changes due to injuries to Tony de Zorzi and Nandre Burger, with Ryan Rickelton and Ottneil Baartman taking their place in the XI.
The three-match ODI series is currently tied at 1-1, with India having won a high-scoring thriller in Ranchi by 17 runs and South Africa drawing level in Raipur by pulling off a four-wicket victory after being set a steep 359 to win.
India vs South Africa 3rd ODI Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul(wk/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(wk), Temba Bavuma(c), Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman
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