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India National Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Match Scorecard: India captain KL Rahul heaped praise on batting maestros Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's ability to dominate the opposition with their masterful batting displays and make the opposition look "silly."

The veteran pair managed to make South Africa's bowlers look "silly" as they scripted a commanding win in the first ODI.

Kohli smashed his 52nd ODI hundred, a 120-ball 135, and Rohit also played a well-crafted 57 as India pulled off a tense 17-run victory over the Proteas to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

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"Watching Rohit and Kohli play like that is always fun. They've made oppositions look silly and show why they are who they are. I've seen this for a long time, it's a lot more fun to see them around in the dressing room," said Rahul in the post-match presentation.

Rahul also admitted the tense nature of the match made him a bit nervous towards the end.

"I'd be lying if I said there were no butterflies in my stomach. We're playing ODI cricket after a while. There's some expectation. But we kept taking wickets and the bowlers stuck to their plans. They pushed us and kept coming hard," he added.

The wicketkeeper-batter found a fresh challenge and an abrupt learning turn in his new role at No. 6 in the batting order.

"Batting at No. 6 is okay, got to do the job for the team. That's the role I've been given in the last 2-3 series. It's helping personal development," he added.

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Rahul commended Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav for their composure under pressure and their wicket-taking abilities.

"To get crucial new-ball wickets is what we expect. Kuldeep is doing this job, key for us to take wickets," he noted.

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