 "India vs South Africa: Rajat Patidar handed maiden cap in ODI series decider in Paarl")
Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar was on Thursday handed his maiden cap as India made two changes to their lineup for the third and final ODI against South Africa in Paarl. **LIVE: India vs South Africa, 3rd ODI in Paarl** India’s ongoing ODI series against South Africa has witnessed multiple debuts with Sai Sudharsan and Rinku Singh debuting in the first and second ODIs respectively. Patidar, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was the third member of the India squad to be handed his maiden cap. Patidar has made 12 appearances for the Royal Challengers across the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the IPL, smashing an unbeaten 112 against Lucknow Super Giants in last year’s Eliminator in Kolkata to propel RCB into Qualifier 2. He also has a little more than 50 appearances in each of the three domestic formats with 3,795 First-Class runs at an average of 45.72 with 11 centuries and 22 fifties.
A look at #TeamIndia's Playing XI for the third and final ODI 👌👌
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 21, 2023
Rajat Patidar is set to make his ODI debut 👏👏
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/nSIIL6gzER#TeamIndia | #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/3qHkp6M32u
In Thursday’s series decider, Patidar got off to a promising start, collecting 22 runs in 16 deliveries, hitting three fours and a six off Nandre Burger before getting cleaned up by the latter. The 30-year-old came in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had featured in the second ODI but was ruled out of the third due to a finger injury. The other Indian change was that of all-rounder Washington Sundar replacing left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. South Africa, meanwhile, opted for an unchanged XI after skipper Aiden Markram opted to field. The series is currently tied 1-1 with India and South Africa having won the first and second ODIs respectively by identical eight-wicket margins. The Men in Blue will be hoping to collect what will be only their second ODI series win in South Africa before the two-Test series gets underway in Centurion next week.
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