IND vs SA: "KL Rahul Used To Seem A Little Bit Lost.."- Sunil Gavaskar

On the opening day at SuperSport Park in Centurion, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada scripted a remarkable performance, securing his 14th five-wicket haul. Despite this setback, wicket-keeper Batsman KL Rahul took charge of things in the middle for India and played an unwavering innings of 70 to help the visitors accumulate a total of 208 runs for the loss of eight wickets at the time of Stumps on Day 1.

KL Rahul, navigating a new role in the Test cricket landscape, faced uncertainties before solidifying his position due to Ishan Kishan’s withdrawal for “personal reasons.” Initially considered as the secondary wicketkeeping option, Rahul found himself batting at the unconventional position of No. 6, a departure from his customary opening role.

Despite the early setbacks for India, KL Rahul stood firm collaborated with the lower-order batsmen, and showcased his cricketing prowess. This gritty performance earned him accolades from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who asserted that Rahul’s unbeaten score of 70 holds a significance equivalent to a century, regardless of the outcome on Day 2.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma after winning the toss, elected to bowl first in a bouncy and highly unpredictable track at Centurion’s SuperSport Park Stadium. Their bowlers took a little bit of time before breathing fire and exposing the inexperience of the Indian batting line-up with Right-fast bowler Kagiso Rabada leading the attack.

Indian Captain Rohit Sharma who was playing his first competitive cricket match since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 finale against Australia on November 19th, failed to get off to a start he would have expected. It was a matter of 14 balls in which he scored 5 runs before Rabada lured him to play his trademark pull shot towards deep fine leg where Nandre Burger completed an easy catch.

After the first wicket, started the chain reaction with Yashasvi Jaiswal following a few promising shots, departed for 17, thanks to a fantastic out-swinging delivery that took the edge of Jaiswal’s bat as he tried to play a very late straight drive. Both of India’s openers were removed before the 10th over with Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli at the crease.

Gill looked quite uncomfortable right from the beginning and he was eventually clean bowled by Rabada for 2 off 12. Kohli and Shreyas Iyer started their resistance but Rabada’s low-in swinger first took out Iyer for 31 and then Kohli got out in a similar way as Jaiswal for 38. Rabada was at it again as he removed Ashwin as well as Shardul Thakur to claim his 14th 5-wicket haul in Test cricket.

But one batter who looked promising was KL Rahul, who captained India to a 2-1 ODI Series win before the Test series. He has kept the Indian resistance alive with his mature inning of 70 and he will be hoping that Mohammad Siraj can hold on to his wicket for as long as he can.

“The Footwork And Balance Of KL Rahul, A Joy To Watch,” Says Sunil Gavaskar

After Day 1 concluded, Cricket pundit Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on KL Rahul who substantially saved India from major embarrassment by helping them at least touch the 200-run mark on Day 1. Gavaskar noted that Rahul’s balance, footwork, and resilience are a joy to watch and also claimed that the number 6 spot well and truly suits him.

“Earlier on, he used to seem a little bit lost. He’s not lost now. He’s there, very much there. And that tells you the way he’s approaching batting that century at the Asia Cup, that first game was a very good century. He has made batting look easy. When you look at his footwork and the balance, it was pretty amazing. The knock also shows that the number is right for him in Test match cricket. I think he will get a lot of runs for India in the middle order.” – Gavaskar told Star Sports about KL Rahul.