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Indian top-order Ruturaj Gaikwad missed out on the playing XI against South Africa in the third ODI of the three-game series. The series was levelled by the hosts in the second ODI at Port Elizabeth on the back of Nandre Burger's three-for and Tony De Zorzi's stunning century to register an eight-wicket win.
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Ahead of the third ODI, the Indian captain for this series, KL Rahul, confirmed that Gaikwad was replaced by right-handed batter Rajat Paidar. Talking about Ruturaj Gaikwad's absence, Rahul shared that the Maharashtra opener had damaged his finger.
Speaking at the toss, Rahul said: "Not really bothered by being asked to bat first. The wicket will be even for both innings and the lights come on pretty late here. We got ourselves to a good position in the previous game but ended up losing 5 wickets for 40-odd runs. Once we get a good start, we have to make it count. Today is another opportunity for the boys to prove themselves."
"This looks like a much better wicket than the previous two, hopefully, we can get plenty of runs on the board. Two changes - Rajat Patidar makes his ODI debut, Rutu misses out after doing some damage to his finger. Also, Kuldeep gets a rest and Washington Sundar comes in," Rahul added.
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Patidar has been among the top-performing batters in Indian domestic cricket. The 30-year-old has scored 3795 runs at an average of 45.72 in 52 first-class games while in List-A cricket, the Royal Challengers Bangalore star has scored 1813 runs in 54 games at an average of 34.86.
