KL Rahul scored his eighth Test ton and his second Boxing Day Test on Day 2 in Centurion. Rahul scored 101 off 137 deliveries that helped India reach 245 after resuming their innings on 208/8 on day 2. Rahul scored some much-needed runs and added 47 runs for the 10th wicket with Mohammed Siraj and was the last wicket to fall.
The Men in Blue were in a spot of bother at one stage being 121 for 6 after the fall of Ravichandran Ashwin’s wicket. Rahul first added 43 runs with Shardul Thakur (24), 27 runs with Jasprit Bumrah (1), and a crucial 47 runs with Mohammed Siraj helping India get over the 200-run mark.
The television commentators hailed this knock as one of KL Rahul’s best knocks in Test cricket. Former Indian captains Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri hailed the keeper-batter for the patience he showed during his knock which was pleasing to see. Sunil Gavaskar during his commentary stint with Star Sports said that Rahui’s knock has been one of the best he has seen in his 50 years of watching the game.
An Innings To Remember: Sunil Gavaskar On KL Rahul
“An innings to remember. Watching cricket for the last 50 years, but I can surely say that this hundred by Rahul is in the Top 10 centuries scored by Indians in Test cricket,” he said after the end of the Indian innings while talking on Star Sports.
Ravi Shastri was equally impressed by KL Rahul’s knock and hailed this innings as one of the best innings of his career. Shastri highlighted how Rahul garnered the strike and batted along with the tail scoring much of those runs. He never treated either Bumrah or Siraj as if they couldn’t hold up one end, which in turn, allowed better synchronization.
While he praised Rahul’s garnering of the strike, he also hailed his strokeplay. The right-hander notched up his century when the South African skipper pulled the field in thinking that the Indian batter would look for a single to complete his ton. Instead, he went over long on for a mammoth six to complete his significant ton.
“Just the quality of his strokeplay, the application, trying conditions… he sussed them well. And I just loved his intent. Be it in attack, or defense, he was superb. By a country mile, his best hundred. And one of the best centuries you will ever see by an Indian overseas. I think these were testing conditions, and he was brilliant. He made it look easy and he has surely cemented his place in the middle order. Whether he continues keeping or not, India should certainly look at him at No. 5 or 6 on a regular basis,” Shastri pointed out.
After the first day’s play former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar said to Star Spots that Rahul’s experience as an opener has helped him to understand at what pace to bat in Centurion. He said that his overall strokeplay was also a reason behind his rise as a batter in recent times.
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