Ranchi, Nov 30 (IANS) K.L. Rahul, who is leading India in the ODI series against South Africa after a big break in the absence of Shubman Gill, on Sunday said he is okay with batting at the No.6 position as that’s the role that has been given to him in the last few series. He also gave credit to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, along with Harshit Rana, for making Sunday’s victory possible despite a fightback by the visitors.

Rahul scored a 56-ball 60 batting as a middle-order batter and shared a 78-run partnership with Virat Kohli. As they made a winning start to the series despite playing the format after a break and following the 0-2 defeat in the Test series.

“I’d be lying if I said no butterflies in the stomach. We’re playing ODI cricket after a while. There’s some expectation. But we kept taking wickets, and bowlers stuck to plans. They pushed us and kept coming hard. Batting at No. 6 is okay, gotta 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,” said Rahul in the post-match presentation on Sunday.

Rahul later put up a photograph of the Men in Blue celebrating the victory in an Instagram post with the comment, “Sunday spent well. Team India wins.”

India put up a commanding first innings total, driven by a superb century from Virat Kohli (135 off 120 balls) and a vital half-century by Rohit Sharma (57 off 51) to help India recover from an early setback to post a big total. Asked to bat, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early to Nandre Burger, but Rohit and Kohli quickly seized control.

“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,” said stand-in skipper Rahul after the match.

The experienced pair of Rohit and Virat stitched together a fluent 136-run stand, taking the pressure off after the early setback. Rohit reached a brisk 57 off 51 balls while K.L. Rahul contributed a vital 60 off 56 balls to help India post 349/8.

Defending the massive score, pacers Harshit Rana (3-65) and Arshdeep Singh (2-54) made the early breakthroughs, while Kuldeep Yadav was the most successful bowler with 4-68 as India quelled a late assault by Marco Jansen (70), Matthew Breetzke (72), and Corbin Bosch (67) to win by 17 runs.

“Harshit’s done really well; we knew he had 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,” said Rahul.

–IANS

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