"He saved Kuldeep's overs" - Former India batter lavishes praise on KL Rahul's captaincy after IND vs SA 2025 3rd ODI

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif lavished huge praise on KL Rahul's captaincy after the third ODI against South Africa. India beat the Proteas comfortably by nine wickets and sealed the three-match series 2-1.

Kaif lauded KL Rahul for saving wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav's overs for the backend of the innings. Having won the toss, the Men in Blue bowled first and restricted South Africa to 270 all out in 47.5 overs. Kuldeep returned figures of 4/41 from his 10 overs. These included the wickets of Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, and Marco Jansen at the right times.

"It was good captaincy from KL that he saved Kuldeep's overs and brought him into the attack with the old ball. He got more control. Left-arm leg-spin is a rare skill. When he picked those wickets in the last 10-12 overs, that is where he broke their spine. Kuldeep's speciality is picking wickets in big matches. Yes, the bowler may not always be right while asking for DRS, but I will praise his mindset here. He feels he will bowl to pick wickets only and that is why he is so enthusiastic. It shows his wicket-taking mentality," he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif hailed KL Rahul for doing a good job with a team that had young and inexperienced pacers. India played with Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj rested. Once again, he highlighted that saving Kuldeep's overs for the backend was the turning point of the game.

"KL Rahul has done a very good job as a captain. The way he used Kuldeep. It was also a very young bowling team. Even with that he won the series. I will praise him a lot for this. He has played a lot and has seen many ups and downs so he has the experience. He also got the benefit of having Rohit and Virat there. Saving Kuldeep's overs for the end was the turning point and it was brilliant captaincy," he added.

India chased down the target in just 39.5 overs with nine wickets to spare. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored an unbeaten 116 while Rohit Sharma (75) and Virat Kohli (65 not out), once again proved their worth with the bat.

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Mohammad Kaif reckons KL Rahul winning the toss was a big factor

Mohammad Kaif also reckoned that KL Rahul winning the toss was an important factor in the third match. India finally ended their streak of losing 20 consecutive tosses in ODIs previously. He reflected on how not having to bowl with dew helped the Indian bowlers.

"Look at how big the toss factor is. We won today and last game we had lot of issues with the dew. It was seen in a big game and the decider today. The batters did well but I will praise the bowlers. They restricted South Africa to 270. It is a big plus point. Prasidh did well, Kuldeep always does well. It was a comeback for Prasidh and this will give him confidence. The bowlers set up the game today," he said.

Prasidh Krishna also made an exceptional comeback. The pacer returned figures of 4/66 from 9.5 overs. Arshdeep Singh and Ravindra Jadeja also chipped in with a wicket each.