In a pitch that favours the fast bowlers, KL Rahul struck 70 runs (not out) off 105 balls when rain forced early stumps.
As South Africa bowler Kagiso Rabada’s formidable performance led to the dismissal of India’s crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul outshines with his gritty fifty, guiding India to 208/8 on Day 1 of the first Test in Centurion.
In a pitch that favours the fast bowlers, KL Rahul struck 70 runs (not out) off 105 balls when rain forced early stumps. During the match, there was an incident when the South Africa Left-arm fast-medium bowler Marco Jansen looked furious at Rahul and also tried sledging him. Whereas, KL Rahul on strike reacted to Jansen’s aggression with a smile and as a result, his calm approach is winning hearts on social media platforms. It took place just before the tea break when India’s star wicket-keeper defended a delivery from Jansen.
Watch the viral reaction here:
Speaking about the match, Rabada was at his lethal best, knocking the stuffing out of India's batting ‘prima donnas' with a fifer on a track offering extra and variable bounce as South Africa took control of the proceedings on the opening day of the first Test here Tuesday.
One of the finest fast bowlers in contemporary cricket, Rabada bowled an absolute peach to dismiss Virat Kohli (38 off 64 balls) with the old ball after having bounced out Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (5) in his first spell.
In between, Shreyas Iyer (31 off 50 balls), who lived dangerously, got a shooter that completely exposed his defence. Rabada's 14th five-wicket haul in Tests also comprised the scalp of Ravichandran Ashwin, who was flummoxed by the extra bounce, and Shardul Thakur (24), who after a gutsy effort was softened by a bouncer to be taken out with a length delivery later.
(With inputs from PTI)
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 "Watch: KL Rahul’s reaction to Marco Jansen’s sledging in IND vs SA Test wins internet’s heart")
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