IND vs SA: "Historic Knock" - Mohammad Kaif Praises KL Rahul For Brilliant Century In Centurion

Former Indian Batter Mohammad Kaif took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate and appreciate wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul for getting to his 8th Test century in a very tough situation as well as surface for the 1st Test in Centurion.

It will be fair to say that KL Rahul somehow saved the Indian team from major embarrassment as the Indian batting line-up had succumbed to South Africa‘s lethal bowling line-up, spearheaded by none other than Kagiso Rabada who took his 14th 5-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Temba Bavuma’s decision to bowl first eventually proved to be the right decision as more than half of India’s batting line-up was cleaned up on Day 1. The only exception yesterday was KL Rahul. The 31-year-old remained absolutely unfazed by Rabada’s ruthlessness, Nandre Burger’s late swing, Marco Jansen’s line length and Gerald Coetzee’s raw pace.

He showed the right temperament in a tough pitch to bat on. The Centurion track had bounce but it also produced moments of unpredictability. The wicket of Shreyas Iyer is a perfect example of it as the ball lacked bounce after landing and went straight into the stumps.

KL Rahul played with patience, and perseverance, and his immaculate technique proved to be an added benefit. It was his efforts that ensured India reached the 200-run mark. Another reason why it was difficult for him to score the century was that he arrived to bat at number 6, something that Mohammad Kaif believes is a tough thing to do.

“Scoring a Century from number 6 is not an easy task that too in a tricky pitch, overcast weather, wet pitch and seaming conditions. India were in huge trouble but KL Rahul, you played an amazing knock, a historic knock that will be talked about for a long time, no one will be able to forget it,” Kaif said.

“You do this thing right that you keep your mouth shut and let the bat do the talking. It was a fantastic inning because the game was in a delicate situation, the team was struggling but KL Rahul you were solid. This inning had sheer class and was a proper Test match innings. Congratulations,” Kaif concluded.

KL Rahul Becomes First Ever Overseas Batsman To Score Multiple Hundreds In Centurion

Rahul’s 8th career Test ton was special for another reason. It was because no other overseas batter has been able to score more than 1 century at this very venue. Thus, KL Rahul is the first batsman to score multiple centuries at the SuperSport Park Stadium.

His first century at Centurion came during India’s last tour to South Africa back in 2021/22 where he scored 123 off 260 balls as an Opener in a match that India won by 113 runs. His brilliant inning was brought to an end by a clean bowled by debutant Nandre Burger who had also removed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill cheaply.

At the moment, South Africa are looking very strong after losing Aiden Markram early on for 5 runs. Opener Dean Elgar has scored his half-century with the Proteas at 96/1 on the 2nd session of Day 2.