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India’s captain KL Rahul gestures as he walks back after the team won the toss before the start of the third ODI cricket match of a series between India and South Africa, at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (PTI Photo)
India skipper KL Rahul was a relieved man after he broke India’s jinx of losing 20 straight tosses by finally winning a coin flip against South Africa in Vizag on Sunday for the 3rd ODI. Rahul even tossed the coin with his left hand rather than his favoured right hand to see if he can break the jinx.
“The first was the toss, I don’t think the team has looked at me and smiled so much and have been more proud of me for doing anything other than winning this toss. Yeah, it was really crucial. You can see how the ground is at the moment. We got tough conditions in the first two games. So, it was good to give the bowlers a break in a wet outfield,” Rahul said after the match where India defeated South Africa by 9 wickets and clinched the series 2-1.
During the toss, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma had called heads and the coin favoured the Indians, who opted to bowl first after being asked to bat in both of the previous ODIs. After winning the toss, Rahul was seen fist pumping and celebrating which brought a smile to Bavuma’s face and elicited a loud roar in the stands. The roar was so prolonged that toss presenter Murali Karthik had to wait a few seconds for the noise to subside.
India’s win was set up by Prasidh Krishna (4/66) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/41) in the first half of the game. “We were able to squeeze in the middle. Prasidh picked up those two or three wickets in a spell which was really crucial and then Kuldeep coming in, picking two wickets in an over. In ODI cricket, that’s how you try and contain teams,” Rahul said.
After South Africa were restricted to 270, India on the backs of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s century and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s half centuries, chased down the target in 39.5 overs.
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