KL Rahul admits he ignored Virat Kohli’s advice and reveals the mastermind behind India’s unique left-hand toss move that helped break their long-running toss curse. Rahul explains how the quirky tactic originated and why the team trusted the surprising strategy.
KL Rahul has disclosed that he disregarded Virat Kohli’s advice after winning the toss during the third ODI against South Africa on Saturday, December 6, at the ADA-VCA Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. This victory marked a significant moment as it ended a streak of 20 consecutive toss losses for the Men in Blue.
For those unfamiliar with the situation, India had set a world record by losing the toss for 20 games in a row. The previous record for the most consecutive toss losses stood at 11. This unusual streak, which is mathematically a rare occurrence, began during the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
Rahul, who was filling in as captain, was seen tossing the coin with his left hand, a move that proved to be effective. He credited the idea to team analyst Hari, while also mentioning that Virat Kohli had provided him with some suggestions.
“What worked for me today, we had our analyst, Hari, who gave me a few tricks. He asked me to spin it from my left hand and cross my right hand. At this point, I mean, before the toss, there’s a bunch of superstitions and a bunch of things that everyone’s been saying. Virat gave me a different opinion. I stuck with Hari because he said the same thing last game as well, and he’s been the most pushy out of everybody else,” said Rahul in an interaction with BCCI.TV
Captain KL Rahul breaks the streak – #TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @klrahul | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/RIaxJMBPxv
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2025
Throughout the 20 toss streak, Rahul captained in all 20 matches, which included three ODIs in an away series against South Africa in 2023 and two games in the current series. Rohit Sharma led the team in 12 matches, covering the entire 2025 Champions Trophy campaign, while Shubman Gill took charge in three games.
Talking about the match, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his first one-day international century as India secured the three-match series 2-1 with a dominant nine-wicket victory over South Africa on Saturday. Chasing a target of 271, India capitalized on Jaiswal’s unbeaten 116 and his opening partnership of 155 with Rohit Sharma, who contributed 75 runs, reaching the target with 10.1 overs remaining in Visakhapatnam. Jaiswal celebrated his century, achieved in 111 balls, by jumping in joy and raising his bat to acknowledge the crowd’s applause, marking a significant milestone in just his fourth ODI since debuting earlier this year.
Virat Kohli, who had scored centuries in the previous two matches, hit the winning boundary, finishing unbeaten on 65 off 45 balls, much to the delight of the weekend crowd.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dnaindia.com
