Visakhapatnam: KL Rahul tried a new ‘tactic’ at the toss ahead of the third and final ODI against South Africa, and it worked.
The Indian captain spun the coin with his left hand, and it fell in his favour as Tenda Bavuma made the wrong call. The Men in Blue had finally won a toss after 21 ODIs. The last time India, then led by Rohit Sharma, had won the toss was two years ago, in the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai.
With the series tied at 1-1, and the dew factor likely to be crucial in the evening, Rahul had no hesitation in opting to bowl first.
The bowlers did a wonderful job, cutting down South Africa from 168/2 in 29th over to dismiss the Proteas for 270.
Quinton de Kock scored a century (106 off 89 balls, 8×4, 6×6) and shared a fine 113-run stand with Bavuma, but Prasidh Krishna (4/66) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/41) pulled India back into the contest with crucial strikes.
As chinaman Kuldeep cut through the South African lower order, Virat Kohli broke into a dance with the left-armer after one of his strikes.
Virat Kohli couple dance with kuldeep yadav 😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/4VTVw0j7aZ
— JASH 🏴 (@KohliIsLove00) December 6, 2025
