KL Rahul’s hundred
On Day 1 of the first Test against South Africa in Centurion, Indian opener KL Rahul said that he wanted to go for the top dog against the spinner while he was batting on 99, but he controlled his instincts and stopped his attacking impulses to reach his sixth century.
KL Rahul reached his second Test century of the year, his first against the Proteas, with a six off spinner Keshav Maharaj and a four off the similar bowler. He remained unbeaten on 122 with Ajinkya Rahane on 40 as India reached 272 for 3 at stumps to grab the lead right away.
Rahul’s highest score was 16, and he scored with an average of 7.50 in four innings in South Africa three years ago, finally opening on his sixth century outside India later in the day’s play.
Rahul’s record as a Test opener
The 29-year-old, who was dubbed as vice-captain of the Test group after the injured Rohit Sharma was barred from doing so, has now scored a Test hundred in every location he has visited. He has tonnes in Australia (1), England (2), Sri Lanka (1), the West Indies (1), and now South Africa.
Rahul is also the second Indian opener after Wasim Jaffer (116 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2007) to get a Test century in South Africa.
Match Report- Day 1
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul had India looking great thus far. The two put up 117 runs for the first wicket before Lungi Ngidi struck twice, first by dismissing Agarwal leg before wicket for 60 and then dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara for a first-ball duck.
The combination of Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli stitched up an 82-run third-wicket stand before the last option followed a wide drive outside off and was caught at first slip by Wiaan Mulder for 35.
At the close of Day 1, India was all in control at 272/3, with vice-captain KlRahul and Ajinkya Rahane unbroken on 122 and 40, respectively.
Lungi Ngidi was the standout of the South African bowlers. He took 3 wickets, conceding only 45 runs.
Day 1 Press Conference
After the day 1 performance, Rahul said that ” I haven’t given much consideration to that one run; my focus has always been on being in the present and playing that one ball as much as possible. “I’m overjoyed that I was able to end the day on a positive note.”
Mayank Agarwal, the Indian opener, revealed on Sunday that “he held chats with head coach Rahul Dravid on the best method to keep to one’s plans and remain patient when playing on South African wickets.
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