India skipper KL Rahul praised the brilliance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, saying they made the opposition look “silly” with their commanding knocks in India’s 17-run win against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi. Kohli scored his 52nd ODI hundred, a 120-ball 135, while Rohit contributed a well-crafted 57, helping India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

“Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’ve Made Oppositions Look Silly”: KL Rahul After Win Over South Africa In 1st ODI

Rahul expressed admiration for the veteran duo, saying, “Watching Rohit and Kohli play like that is always fun. They’ve made oppositions look silly and show why they are who they are. I’ve seen this for a long time, it’s a lot more fun to see them around in the dressing room.”

Though celebrating the victory, Rahul admitted the closeness of the match made him a bit nervous. “I’d be lying if I said there were no butterflies in my stomach. We’re playing ODI cricket after a while. There’s some expectation. But we kept taking wickets and the bowlers stuck to their plans. They pushed us and kept coming hard.”

Batting at No. 6, Rahul shared that it has been a learning experience: “Batting at No. 6 is okay, got to do the job for the team. That’s the role I’ve been given in the last 2-3 series. It’s helping personal development.”

Rahul also lauded Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav for their composure in a high-scoring game. “Harshit’s done really well, we knew he has potential. He’s tall and can bowl fast, he can give runs in the back end but he has great potential. To get crucial new-ball wickets is what we expect. Kuldeep is doing this job, key for us to take wickets.”

Kuldeep Yadav, who took four wickets in the match, explained his tactical approach: “When I came after the first spell, I had a chat with KL. We wanted to attack despite it being tough to bowl as wickets were important. I was mixing up the scrambled seam and seam up. Just tried to go back of the length. It was easy to connect off a full length.”

Kuldeep admitted that bowling under restrictions after 34 overs posed challenges: “It was very challenging, the ball was getting really wet. We kept putting dust and asked the umpire for a replacement, that was the plan. We saw a couple of great innings from Bosch and Jansen, as we wanted to get a wicket. I bowled a few balls slower through the air, but you can’t just rely on stock balls. You have to mix things up and keep batters guessing. That was my plan.”

South African captain Aiden Markram appreciated his team’s effort despite the loss. “Proud of the chase. Great to watch guys do their thing and never lose belief. All of us were quietly hopeful. Top order falling was defining. Still felt like chasing was the best way to win, but the top order fell early. Small bits of pieces to do better,” he said.