KL Rahul reached his seventh Test century on Sunday.© AFP
KL Rahul scored the seventh century of his testing career when he put India in control on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Sunday. The opener hit a boundary at Keshav Maharaj to raise his century in the 78th over of the match. Rahul spanned a 117-run partnership for the opening wicket with Mayank Agarwal, who batted for half a century, and helped keep India’s ship steady after Lungi Ngidi struck twice in consecutive balls.
India was at the end of the 80th 245/3, with Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane in the fold. Rahul’s magnificent innings to date have included 15 fours and one six.
Rahul is the second Indian opener batsman to score a Test century in South Africa; the first to do so was Wasim Jaffer, who scored 116 in Cape Town in 2006/07.
Earlier in the day, Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat first. India is looking forward to their first-ever Test series win in South Africa and the start on Sunday will give the squad a lot of confidence.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, who has worked closely with Rahul in the past, paid a rich tribute to the batsman during a speech on Star Sports presenter during the tea time show.
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“Stunning batsmanship and he has put everything into it. He gets behind the ball wonderfully well and also plays with soft hands, letting the ball come to him all the time and this has been the hallmark of his innings.”
“Getting on the bounce, finding the right holes, timing the ball right. All the things you want a batsman to do, he does it to perfection and it’s because of his effort and his patience and along with that the collaboration that he With Mayank Agarwal, India is now in a good place,” said Bangar when asked to speak about Rahul’s innings.
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