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Team India had an outing to forget as they suffered a four-wicket defeat to South Africa in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayanan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday, December 4.

After posting a total of 358/9 in 50 overs, Team India failed to defend it as South Africa chased down the 359-run target with four balls to spare. Aiden Markram was the star performer for the Proteas with his 101-run knock, while Matthew Breetzke (68), Dewald Brevis (54), skipper Temba Bavuma (46), and Corbin Bosch (29*) made significant contributions to the Proteas’ run chase.

As Team India allowed South Africa to level the three-match series 1-1, let’s take a look at key talking points from the Men in Blue’s defeat in Raipur.

There has been no end to India’s toss curse as the Men in Blue failed to flip the coin in their favour for the 20th time on the trot in ODIs. The last time India won the toss in an ODI was in the 2023 World Cup, where the Rohit Sharma-led side opted to bat first against Kane Williamson-led New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Since then, the Men in Blue’s luck in ODIs has not turned around, as they have failed to win a single toss in the past 20 matches.

Since the conclusion of the ODI World Cup, Team India has played five ODI series and the Champions Trophy 2025, yet the toss curse has persisted, with the team unable to win the toss in any of these matches. In 20 matches, India won 12 games and lost 8, showing that while the toss curse has been frustrating, the team has still managed to secure victories.

In the series opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad did not have an ideal comeback to the national side as he was dismissed for just 11 runs in Ranchi. However, the Maharashtra batter not only made a strong comeback but also silenced the critics by recording the maiden ODI century of his career in Raipur. He played a brilliant knock of 105 off 83 balls at an impressive strike rate of 126.51.

Alongside his century, Ruturaj formed a crucial 195-run stand for the third wicket with Virat Kohli to guide Team India to a solid total of 358/5 in 50 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s knock was one of the talking points despite India’s defeat as the right-handed batter made a statement with a century.

After a brilliant 135-run knock in the Ranchi ODI, Virat Kohli yet again grabbed the headlines with his century knock, scoring 102 off 93 balls in the Raipur ODI. This was his 53rd ODI century and 84th in international cricket, and marked his 11th instance of scoring back-to-back centuries in ODIs, a record.

With two consecutive centuries in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, Virat Kohli has not only consolidated his spot in India’s long-term plans in the build-up to the 2027 World Cup but also proved to the selectors that he continues to remain in top form in ODI cricket. Kohli and the BCCI are expected to meet to discuss his future and the way forward, keeping in mind the marquee event, after the ODI series against South Africa.

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja came under scrutiny for his slow knock in India’s batting. Jadeja walked in to bat after Washington Sundar’s dismissal at 289/5, and India had nine more overs left to accelerate the scoring rate. However, Jadeja couldn’t leverage the platform as he could score just 24 off 27 balls, including two fours, a knock that slowed India’s momentum in the death overs and drew criticism from fans and analysts.

On that other side, KL Rahul, with whom Ravindra Jadeja formed an unbeaten 69-run partnership, was accelerating the scoring rate and played a knock of 66 off 43 balls, while Jadeja struggled to keep up, creating a noticeable contrast in the approach that further intensified criticism of his slow-paced innings.

One of the key talking points from India’s defeat was poor bowling and fielding, which enabled South Africa to chase down the target comfortably by building partnerships and scoring runs freely without sustained pressure. Four bowlers, Prasidh Krishna (2/82), Kuldeep Yadav (1/78), Harshit Rana (1/70), and Arshdeep Singh (2/54), conceded over 50 runs in their respective spells, which proved costly in a high-scoring match.

Additionally, India’s fielding was also below par with multiple misfields and dropped chances, especially Yashasvi Jaiswal’s missed opportunity to dismiss Aiden Markram, allowing South Africa to keep the scoreboard ticking and maintain control of the chase. The overthrows also played a role in India’s downfall, as they added crucial runs to South Africa’s total in key moments.