While coming at No. 5, Rahul's role as a batsman is not easy - he either has very few overs to make an impact after a top-order mayhem or he has to consolidate after a top-order malfunction.
The hero of the hour was Evin Lewis, who smashed 55 off 23 balls
South Africa's openers have struggled and the skipper said losing Quinton de Kock to injury has affected the team.
Two wickets in four balls was the knockout blow for RCB.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, in Mumbai, on Thursday
Sunrisers Hyderabad need a complete, all-round performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL match on Monday to register their first win of the season.
CSA have however not handed players a final contract
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje, wicketkeeper/batsman Rudi Second and spin bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy have been included in the 15-man squad that will be captained by Faf du Plessis.
Known for his six-hitting prowess, Hardik this season will have to take more responsibility with the bat and also bat higher up the order.
Rahul made 51 not out and Yadav, the world's second-ranked Twenty20 batsman, remained unbeaten on 50 off 33 balls as India romped home with 20 balls to spare.
Kerala's Sanju Samson, 27, was part of the ODI series against Zimbabwe which India won 3-0. He has represented India in seven ODIs and 16 T20Is so far.
South Africa were in early trouble, after a brief rain delay at the start of play, when Aiden Markham went without scoring in the second over of the day.
Images from the rain-curtailed 1st ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday.
The board said no replacement will be brought in for Rabada as there is an extended squad in place in the Bio-Secure Environment (BSE), but George Linde has been retained from the Test team as an extra spin-bowling option for the series.
Both teams will be looking to get out of the danger zone as eight teams remain in the play-off contention.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma praised his bowlers for their economy in the last few overs against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match in Delhi on Thursday.
South African pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje joined the Delhi Capitals squad in Mumbai on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League, starting on April 9.
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 28 runs at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 International series, on Friday.
Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul said Ayush Badoni is a strong 360-degree player and an asset for white-ball cricket in India.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of World Cup 2023 after the first 12 games.
India seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami took three wickets each as the tourists bowled South Africa out for 191 to claim victory by 113 runs just after lunch on the fifth day of the first Test in Centurion on Thursday.
Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock's showing represented an important turning point for South Africa's relatively inexperienced batting line-up as they head into an important summer that also includes a home Test series against England.
David Miller's late cameo saw South Africa stage a late comeback to outclass Sri Lanka by four wickets in the Super 12 match at the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
Images from the second One-Day International between South Africa and India, in Paarl, on Friday.
Images from the third and final One-Day International between India and South Africa in Delhi on Tuesday.
South Africa will be led by captain Quinton de Kock as they come off a 2-0 home series win over Sri Lanka that concluded on Tuesday.
India captain Virat Kohli led from the front with an unbeaten 72 to help secure his team's comprehensive seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the second Twenty20 International, in Mohali, on Wednesday.
Captain Virat Kohli led India to a resounding seven-wicket win over South Africa in the second T20 International with an unbeaten half-century, in Mohali, on Wednesday.
India will need another near perfect game to take the five-match series into the decider.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants in Pune on Tuesday.
Nicholas Pooran's whirlwind 62 from 19 balls powered Lucknow Super Giants to a memorable one-wicket victory off the last ball against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Images from the IPL final between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, in Dubai on Tuesday.
While the batting looks in perfect shape, India's new-look pace department needs to come up with something special against the Proteas in Cuttack on Sunday.
CSK, LSG seek improvement in top-order batting after opening losses
Josh Hazlewood dismissed KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya off successive deliveries in the 19th over.
The Men in Blue are on a 12-match winning streak and come Thursday, they can create an all-time record of winning 13 T20I games in a row.
IMAGES from the 4th T20I between India and South Africa played in Rajkot on Friday.
However, South Africa have lot of openers stacked on top (Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks) with a light middle order which is still a huge concern.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings head into the match after identical seven-wicket wins over Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
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