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The 2nd ODI between South Africa and India kicked off in Paarl on Friday and the first hour of the contest was not short of any drama. After the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan got them off to a steady start. However, just like the trend in the series, the match turned on its head once again as India lost the wickets of Dhawan and Kohli in quick succession to put pressure back on them.
The onus was then on the pair of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant to notch up an important partnership but the two talented batsmen, who are also the leading contenders of getting up the Test captaincy role, invited trouble for themselves.
It all happened on the last ball of the 15th over when Pant nudged the ball towards the left of mid-wicket fielder and KL Rahul left off for a quick single. Having crossed the halfway mark, the Indian skipper was sent back by Pant but it was too late to return.
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Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma had quickly gathered the ball and had thrown it towards the non-striker's end, where Keshav Maharaj was waiting to inflict the run-out. However, Maharaj completely missed the ball and Rahul, who had already reached the striker's end, realized that he could be saved now as he sprinted back towards the non-striker's end.
India had survived! Rahul had survived! However, it was the deadly stare given by KL to Pant which reflected the tension during the whole incident. The 29-year-old also seemed to have shared a few angry words with his batting partner but fortunately, things calmed down and the duo sorted out the confusion in middle, without any damage.
Watch the video here:
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Rahul, who had also survived an earlier chance when Janneman Malan dropped a tough catch of him at gully, would feel like quite a lucky guy on Friday. Having got a good start with the bat, the Indian captain would certainly be looking to convert it to a big one for his side. At the time of writing, Rahul was batting on 41* with the score reading 108/2 in 20 overs.