Rahul Admits Toss and Dew Proved Decisive as India Fail to Defend 358 Against South Africa

India captain KL Rahul admitted that the toss and heavy evening dew played a “huge part” in India’s four-wicket loss to South Africa in the second ODI, after his side failed to defend a massive 358-run target in Gqeberha. The defeat, which levelled the series 1–1, also marked India’s 20th consecutive lost toss in ODIs.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rahul said conditions had tilted the contest sharply in favour of the chasing team.
“How much dew there is and how difficult it is to bowl in the second innings… toss plays a huge part,” he said. “I’m kicking myself about losing two tosses in a row. It’s obviously making a huge difference.”

India batted first for the second time in the series under Rahul’s leadership. After having scraped through with a 17-run win in the opening ODI despite defending 349, India’s bigger total wasn’t enough this time as South Africa chased down the target with four balls to spare.

Rahul felt India could still have improved in key areas.
“Even though 350 looks good, the chat in the dressing room was about how we can get that extra 20–25 runs so the bowlers have some cushion with a wet ball,” he said. “There were a few soft boundaries given away and some lapses in the field. If we tighten up all three aspects, maybe those 20–25 runs go our way.”

India’s innings was built around superb centuries from Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who added 195 runs off just 156 balls for the third wicket. It was Kohli’s 11th instance of scoring hundreds in back-to-back ODIs, while Gaikwad registered his maiden ODI ton.

Rahul praised the pair’s effort.
“It was beautiful to watch—Virat, we’ve seen him do this 53 times now. And Rutu… once he got past 50, the tempo he batted with gave us those extra runs.”

Despite being well-placed, India managed only 103 runs in the last 15 overs and 74 in the final ten, despite having eight wickets in hand. Rahul himself struck an unbeaten 66 off 43 balls after being promoted from the No. 6 position listed at the toss.

He also reflected on India’s lower-order batting.
“If the lower order could contribute a bit more and hit a couple more boundaries, maybe that’s the 20 runs we were looking for,” he said.

Explaining his batting position, Rahul added that he and head coach Gautam Gambhir agreed he should walk in earlier to maintain the scoring rate set by Kohli and Gaikwad.
“Someone who’s batted in the middle and is high on confidence is probably the right person to keep the tempo going. That was the plan.”

The series now moves to the decider, with both teams level at 1–1.