“I stuck with Hari because…” - KL Rahul reveals why he avoided Virat Kohli’s tips over toss

India won the 3rd ODI in Vizag comfortably by nine wickets and sealed the series 2-1. But apart from the dominant show in all three departments by the Men in Blue, what stood out more was that the home team finally ended their toss-losing streak. After their 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, this was the first time they won a toss, bringing the 20-game streak to an end.

At the toss, when stand-in skipper KL Rahul learned that they won, he was seen with a fist pump and a big smile. Even his teammates Harshit Rana, Rishabh Pant, and Arshdeep Singh were seen celebrating. They, along with staff members, also congratulated Rahul.

Later, in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), KL Rahul revealed the tips he received to break the toss curse. He also said how he ignored Virat Kohli’s advice and went with the tip given by the team’s analyst, Hari.

“Virat gave me a different opinion” - Rahul

"We had our analyst, Hari, who gave me a few tricks. He asked me to spin the coin from my left hand and cross the fingers on my right hand. Before the toss, there's a bunch of superstitions and a bunch of things everyone has been saying. Virat gave me a different opinion, I stuck with Hari because he said the same things in the last match, and he’s been the most pushy out of everybody else," Rahul said.

India had a dominant outing in the series decider. After winning the toss, Rahul asked South Africa to bat first. India’s bowlers, particularly Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna, put up a show as they bowled out the visitors for 270 runs. Both bowlers picked four wickets each as the Proteas were dismissed in 47.5 overs. 

In reply, Rohit Sharma (75 off 73), Yashasvi Jaiswal (unbeaten 116 off 121), and Virat Kohli (unbeaten 65 off 45) sealed the win with nine wickets and 10.1 overs left. Jaiswal was named Player of the Match for his maiden ODI ton, while Kohli won Player of the Series with 302 runs in three games, averaging 151.00, including two centuries and a fifty.

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