'Toss Plays a Huge Part’: India Skipper Reveals Key Factor Behind His Side’s Defeat In 2nd IND vs SA ODI

India faced South Africa for their 2nd Ind vs SA ODI match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on November 3, 2025. The visitors managed to secure a win against Team India despite the mammoth target of 359 runs, matching 1-1 in the three-part series.

South Africa chased down the target in 49.2 overs and finished with 362 runs for six wickets, their highest successful run chase on Indian soil.

India's skipper, KL Rahul, in the post-match interview, named the dew and the toss as reasons why his side fell short. For the unversed, South Africa had won the toss and decided to bowl. Notably, this was India's 20th consecutive ODI toss loss.

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KL Rahul Regrets Losing The Toss

The skipper shared that, despite what people might say, tosses play a huge part in games. Additionally, the player also named the improvements his side should focus on to overcome their shortcomings.

Rahul shared, "Considering how much dew there is and how much difficult it is to bowl in the second innings. The umpires have been nice enough to change the ball a few times, but still, toss plays a huge part. I'm kicking myself about losing two tosses in a row."

He further added, "There's always things that we could have done better. I know that 350 looks good, but that's also been the chat in the dressing room even after the last game - how can we get that extra 20-25 so that the bowlers find some cushion when they bowl with the wet ball. Bowlers, obviously, are trying their heart out, but there's areas to improve. We also gave away a few soft runs 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."

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Virat Kohli And Ruturaj Gaikwad's Partnership In The Match

Virat Kohli hit his 53rd ODI century and his second consecutive century in the ODI series against South Africa, while Ruturaj achieved his first ODI century. The duo added 195 runs to India's total of 358 runs with their partnership.