Hamstrung by a brilliant bowling display from the hosts, the India national cricket team were bracing for a quick conclusion to their first attempt at batting in Centurion, when KL Rahul took the reigns of the match in his hands. The wicketkeeper batter put in a gritty display to ensure India survived the first day of their first Test against South Africa following a top and middle-order collapse. A day later, he completed his century - second successive at Centurion Park - and dragged India to a 245-run total. (Day 2 Live Blog | Scorecard | Streaming | Day 1 Report | Full Coverage)
Rahul reached his 101 score in 137 balls, hitting 14 fours and four sixes along the way - including one that took him over the threshold for his century. In doing so, he became the only visiting batter to score two hundreds at the SunSport Park Cricket Stadium, also known colloquially as the Centurion. Rahul also became the first batter to hit 50+ scores in his first games as a wicketkeeper in all three formats. He surrendered his wicket to Nandre Burger after a lengthy battle.
The internet was full of praise for the returning Rahul, under whose stewardship India had beaten South Africa days earlier in the bygone One Day International series. Rahul's battling knock at Centurion, meanwhile, earned praise from both fans and experts, who stood in awe of his prowess with his back against the wall.
Here are some of the best reactions to KL Rahul's ton:
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Squads
India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KS Bharat (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk).
