New Delhi: Team India failed to defend 358 against South Africa in the Second ODI in Raipur skipper KL Rahul admitted that the toss played a huge role and creates a huge difference in games where heavy dew gives chasing teams a clear advantage. India lost their 20th consecutive toss in ODIs and South Africa chose to bowl first before securing a convincing four-wicket win with four deliveries remaining leveling the series 1-1. Not really considering everything - how much dew there is and how difficult it is to bowl in the second innings Rahul said at the presentation when asked if the defeat was a tough pill to swallow. The last game we did really well considering everything. All the difficulties for bowlers bowling with a wet ball and the umpires have been nice enough to change the ball a few times but still I think toss plays a huge part. So Im kicking myself about losing two tosses in a row. Its obviously making a huge difference. India won the series opener by 17-runs in Ranchi Visitors invited India to bat first for the second straight match of the series. Under Rahuls leadership secured a 17-run victory in the opener in Ranchi after putting up 349 but even a larger total couldnt secure the win this time around. To reflect back theres always things that we could have done better Rahul said. With the bat I know that 350 looks good but thats also been the chat in the dressing room even after the last game [about] how can we get that extra 20-25 runs so that the bowlers find some cushion when they bowl with the wet ball. Bowlers obviously are trying their heart out but there are areas to improve. There are a few soft boundaries that we gave away even in the field. If we can tighten up all three aspects of the game and get a bit more sharper then maybe those 20-25 runs will go our way and well be on the other side. Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad stitched together 195-run stand India managed to post a massive total thanks to a brilliant centuries from Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Kohli recorded back-to-back ODI hundreds for the 11th time in his career while Gaikwad smashed his maiden ODI century. The duo stitched together an impressive 195-run stand off just 156 deliveries for the third wicket. It was beautiful to watch - Virat the way he batted. Obviously we have seen him do this for 53 times now Rahul said. He goes on about doing his job were used to seeing it. Just to see the way Rutu batted was beautiful. [He] took on the spinners hit his gaps. Once he got past that 50 the tempo that he batted with is I think what gave us that extra 20 runs. India failed to capitalise at the end Despite scoring a massive total India couldnt capitalise at the end. They managed only 103 runs in the final 15 overs despite having eight wickets in hand and just 74 in the last ten. Rahul scored an unbeaten 66 off 43 balls at No. 5 even though he was listed at No. 6 at the toss. Washington Sundar managed only 1 off 8 while Ravindra Jadeja faced 27 balls for an unbeaten 24 hitting just two fours. Obviously batting at 5-6-7 [could be looked at] Rahul said. If the lower order could contribute a little bit more and hit a couple of more boundaries then maybe thats the 20 runs that we would have been happy with. Today is the first time Ive been slotted at No. 6 and Ive walked in at 5. Otherwise its always a decision before the game. The way Rutu and Virats partnership was going on they set a good tempo. So GG [Gautam Gambhir head coach] bhai and me felt like it would be the right time for me to walk in and keep that tempo going. Obviously [I] got a fifty last game so theres a bit of confidence. Someone whos batted in the middle someone whos high on confidence is probably the right person to go in and take on the bowling and keep that tempo going. That was the plan.
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