"Welcome to Punjab Kings India" - Fans roast Indian middle-order after their abysmal show in the first ODI against South Africa

KL Rahul-led Team India began the three-match ODI series with a disappointing loss in Paarl. After looking in a comfortable situation mid-way through the innings, a sudden middle-order collapse caused the downfall of India in the match. South African bowlers capitalized on that momentum and strangled the lower-order batters to win the match by 31 runs in the end.

Chasing 297, Team India looked to be in a great position until the 25th over of the second innings, with Shikhar Dhawan(79) and Virat Kohli(51) looking in sublime touch. Duo's departure in quick succession opened the flood gates for the South African bowlers. Inexperienced Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Venkatesh Iyer failed to utilize the opportunity and soon perished, leaving the visitors in a heap of trouble.

Shardul Thakur fought valiantly in the end, but the asking rate went beyond his reach as there was no support from the other end. Fans were extremely disappointed to witness the abysmal batting performance of the middle-order and expressed the same on Twitter.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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There was so much to learn from today's game: KL Rahul

Team India's stand-in skipper KL Rahul revealed that his side learned a lot from today's loss.

Speaking at the post-match presentations after the game, KL Rahul reflected on India's batting performance and pointed out that middle-order collapse was the major reason for their defeat. Rahul said:

"There was so much to learn from today's game. We started off really well, but we couldn't get wickets in the middle overs. We will have to see how we get wickets in the middle overs and stop the opposition batters."

"Today the middle-order couldn't get going for us. We were on par for the first 20-25 overs of the game. At that stage, I thought we might chase it down easily, but SA bowled really well and got crucial wickets to come back in the game."

He added:

"Every game is important for us. We all want to go out there and give our best performances representing the nation. We haven't played one-day cricket for a while."

"We have the 2023 World Cup in mind and want to get the best XI on the park for that. In the process, we will make mistakes, but we will learn from them."

The Men in Blue will now face the Proteas team in the second ODI of the three-match series on Friday at the same venue.