IND vs SA: KL Rahul is probably having the best time in his Test cricket career. After acing his second tour to England, the Karnataka batter scored his maiden century in South Africa during the Boxing Day Test. The opening batter played a watchful inning and all sorts of cricketing shots to complete his seventh Test century. Follow InsideSport.IN for more updates.
Along with Mayank Agarwal, Rahul came into open the innings for India after Virat Kohli-led India won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening pair played cautiously in the first hour and formed a half-century stand. Mayank and Rahul built on the good start and went into lunch without losing a wicket.
Also Read: IND vs SA Live: KL Rahul 2.0 continues to impress, hammers first Test century against South Africa
IND vs SA: ‘Online batting Manual’, former cricketers hail KL Rahul’s resurgence, as new vice-captain impresses with maiden ton in South Africa
KL Rahul played second fiddle to Agarwal in the century partnership. But after India lost two quick wickets in the form of Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahul took the onus on himself and allowed the Indian captain to settle. The captain and his deputy formed a half-century partnership before Kohli went down to Lungi Ngidi.
Rahul was then joined by Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. But it was all KL Rahul’s show as the 29-year-old put on a batting masterclass or better say ‘online batting manual’ in Mohammad Kaif’s language. He showed great composure to cope with the pace and bounce from Proteas bowlers and scored his maiden century on South African soil.
His batting was hailed by former cricketers on Twitter. Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif praised Rahul for his technique and called his innings an ‘online batting manual’. Wasim Jaffer, who also holds the record for first Test century by an Indian opener in South Africa, welcomed Rahul to the club.
Respect conditions, play late, stride forward, weight transfer, dot balls, drives … kl rahul is holding online batting class please watch… what a Fantastic knock👏👏👏 @klrahul11 #INDvsSA
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 26, 2021
Welcome to the exclusive club of Indian openers with a Test hundred in SA @klrahul11 😁 very well played 👏🏼 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/Fjz2RRA4aA
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA: ‘Online batting Manual’, former cricketers hail KL Rahul’s resurgence, as new vice-captain impresses with maiden ton in South Africa
Check other top reactions here:
Brilliant from Rahul. A century in South Africa is special. Another step towards becoming the player we all knew he could be.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 26, 2021
That 💯 has 𝗞𝗟ass written all over it! 😍#SAvIND #CricketTwitter #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/D1Rp0RSckD
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 26, 2021
Scoring overseas ton is not new for #KLRahul but I am sure this one will count among very special because of the context of the series and conditions. #CricketTwitter #INDvsSA #INDvSA
— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA: ‘Online batting Manual’, former cricketers hail KL Rahul’s resurgence, as new vice-captain impresses with maiden ton in South Africa
India finished Day 1 on a high courtesy of top innings from Rahul, Mayank, and Ajinkya Rahane.
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