For the second ODI against South Africa, the Indian squad arrived in Raipur on Tuesday.
After an excellent start to the ODI campaign against South Africa last Sunday in Ranchi, the Indian team reached Raipur on Tuesday for the second encounter of the three-game series. On Wednesday, the game will take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium. India will aim to finish the match in Raipur with an unbeatable 2-0 advantage after winning the series opener by 17 runs.
In a video circulating on social media, the Indian team was pictured waiting for departure at Ranchi airport on Tuesday morning. The newest member of the BCCI selection committee, former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha, was observed having a heated conversation with Virat Kohli. In the brief video that was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ojha listened to Kohli in silence while he spoke nonstop.
Meanwhile, in a different video, former India captain Rohit Sharma was seen enjoying a fun interaction with Ojha and India head coach Gautam Gambhir. For those who don't know, Ojha and Rohit not only shared an Indian dressing room, but they also played for the same IPL teams twice: the Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers.
The video emerged a day after sources stated that Gambhir’s relationship with Rohit and Kohli was not as strong as it had been, impacting the environment in the ODI dressing room, but the setups for T20Is and Tests apparently remained positive.
"Gautam Gambhir and senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma don't get along as well as they should, and there may be a discussion about the two players' futures. According to a BCCI source cited by Dainik Jagran, "This could take place either in Raipur or Visakhapatnam, venues for the second and third ODIs."
Irrespective of their off-field connection, the ODI team has managed to win two of their previous four matches, with Rohit and Kohli leading the show. Both were dismissed for a duck in their first match of the October ODI series against Australia after returning to international cricket following an eight-month hiatus. But they both recovered swiftly.
Rohit struck a brave fifty and backed it up with a performance of 121 runs to claim the Player of the Series award, and then scored a third consecutive half-century score in the format, this time against South Africa last Sunday. In contrast, Kohli was removed for duck in the second game as well, but in the last game in Australia, he and Rohit had a 165-run partnership and produced a game-winning 74. He also contributed 135 runs to India's victory on Sunday. It was his third ton at the location and his 52nd in ODI cricket.
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