India's current ODI skipper KL Rahul achieved a towering milestone following India's emphatic eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the first ODI on December 17. The match, held at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, witnessed India's total dominance over hosts South Africa.
Meanwhile, Rahul shattered MS Dhoni's mighty record and joined Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in elite list as he notched 10th consecutive victories as India's captain in international cricket. Following an emphatic eight-wicket win over South Africa in Johannesburg, Rahul secured his 10th successive victory in international cricket and aims to extend this streak with two more games left in the series.
India, batting first, displayed a remarkable bowling show. Arshdeep Singh remained the star of the show, claiming a five-wicket haul, while Avesh Khan took four wickets to rattle South Africa's batting line-up. The duo dominated the South African batting lineup, restricting them to a mere 116 runs.
Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest number of consecutive wins by an Indian captain in international cricket, having secured 19 straight victories between 2019 and 2022. Also, he achieved a streak of 12 consecutive wins in 2018, even when he wasn't the regular captain. Virat Kohli is tied for second place with 12 consecutive wins as well. Following the victory against South Africa, Rahul joined this exclusive club as only the third Indian captain to achieve a streak of 10 consecutive match wins.
List of Indian captain with most back-to-back victories in international cricket:
19 matches – Rohit Sharma (2019/22)
12 matches – Rohit Sharma (2018)
12 matches- Virat Kohli (2017)
10 matches – Rohit Sharma (2023)
10 matches – KL Rahul (2022/23)*
9 matches – MS Dhoni (2013)
Chasing South Africa's lowly target, Indian batters exhibited effortless show, with Sai Sudharsan and Shreyas Iyer hitting splendid half-centuries to comfortably lead their team to victory. This triumph in the first ODI served as a moment of redemption for KL Rahul, especially since his previous captaincy in a 50-over series in South Africa resulted in a 3-0 series loss.
KL Rahul acknowledged his satisfaction with this victory, contrasting it with the previous whitewash. He praised the young players for their disciplined performance. In the post match presentation Rahul said,"I am happy. Good to have a win under the belt. Completely different to what we expected. The plan was to get the spinners in the game. The boys did really well. The boys did well to stay disciplined. The ball kept moving around. There is a lot of cricket being played. You prioritize one format. For now, it is Tests and T20s. Everyone is performing and trying to do well for the country. Good chance for them to get a taste of international cricket."
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