KL Rahul, standing in as the Indian captain, expressed his surprise at the spin-friendly conditions offered by the Holkar Stadium pitch in Indore. The surprise came after India handed Australia a crushing defeat, sealing the fate of the three-match ODI series with a 2-0 lead on Sunday, September 24.
Setting a colossal target of 400 runs for the Australians to chase, India managed to bowl out their opponents for just 217 runs in 28.2 overs. Prasidh Krishna provided India with an early breakthrough, while Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja continued to take wickets at regular intervals.
Rahul shared his thoughts during the post-match presentation ceremony, saying, "When I saw the wicket, I didn't think it would spin that much. Having 400 on the board also gives you confidence."
Rahul himself had a successful outing, contributing a rapid half-century. Following his return from an injury hiatus, Rahul scored an unbeaten fifty at the PCA Stadium in Mohali and followed it up with another valuable knock.
"Team selection is the responsibility of the coach and Rohit... whoever gets picked has a job to do. Sitting out can be challenging after scoring a lot of runs, but everyone has experienced that," he remarked.
Rahul also addressed the few missed opportunities towards the end of the Australian innings. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shardul Thakur gave Josh Hazlewood two lifelines, although these mistakes didn't prove costly for India.
"I'm aware that we dropped a couple of catches, but when you're traveling every second day and playing on different grounds, adjusting to the lighting conditions can be challenging. Many of the players have been in the game for a long time... we're trying to manage our physical condition, and fielding is closely linked to how fresh you are," Rahul added.
The third and final ODI of the series is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
