Team India all-rounder Deepak Chahar’s fifty in the third and final ODI against South Africa in Cape Town on Sunday (January 23) went in vain as KL Rahul’s side slumped to a four-run loss. Chahar blazed his second ODI fifty but couldn’t get the team across the line but his fiancé Jaya Bharadwaj posted a special message for the former Chennai Super Kings pacer on social media.


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Set 288 to win, India slipped to 156/4 after Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli’s fifties. Chahar came down the order and blasted 54 to bring down the equation to 10 runs off the final three overs. The Rajasthan all-rounder had earlier scored a brilliant 69 on ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo last year.


Chahar was visibly distraught in the dug-out after India lost their final wicket and saw their opposition snatch an unlikely victory. “Days are hard when you are playing and harder when you are not but the hard work, dedication, passion and enthusiasm you show on and off-field for this game is what truly makes you a champion,” Jaya wrote on Instagram.


“A sport as competitive as cricket, sometimes you win the game and sometimes not but your effort has made the whole country proud. You have shown that you are ready to win the toughest of battles for your country and your team… proud of you… Jai Hind,” she added.


Check Jaya Bharadwaj's post here...



The post was also liked by former Team India skipper Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma among over 24,000 others.


Chahar had proposed to Jaya Bharadwaj in UAE after the last league match of CSK in IPL 2021. The entire CSK team, including skipper MS Dhoni and his wife Sakshi, celebrated Chahar and Jaya’s engagement last year.


Meanwhile, stand-in skipper KL Rahul also praised Deepak Chahar’s brilliant fifty in the third ODI. “Deepak gave us a real chance. Quite an exciting game, disappointing that we ended up on the losing side. It’s quite obvious where we’ve gone wrong and it’s for everyone to see, our shot selection has been really poor as batsmen. Even as bowlers we weren’t hitting the good areas consistently. We didn’t pressure the opposition for long periods so we ended up losing the series,” KL Rahul said after the match.


“We need to recognise now how we can get better. What has always stood out for us is the energy and the passion, and the skill and understanding of the game. These kinds of mistakes will keep happening, but it is important we learn and don’t keep repeating the mistakes,” Rahul added.