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On This Day In Sport, April 26: Rudolph Slays Bangla Tigers On Debut, Neuer Makes Lasting Impression

April 26 has been a big day in the lives of Jacques Rudolph, Manuel Neuer, Andrew Luck and Baker Mayfield

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On This Day In Sport, April 26: Rudolph Slays Bangla Tigers On Debut, Neuer Makes Lasting Impression
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Jacques Rudolph enjoyed a debut to remember for South Africa on this day 17 years ago, while April 26 is a date during which the eyes of the NFL world were locked on Andrew Luck and Baker Mayfield. (More Sports News)

Bangladesh had no answer to the classy Rudolph as he made a double-century on his first taste of Test cricket for the Proteas.

Luck found himself headed for Indianapolis, while Mayfield set the sat nav for Cleveland after being taking first in the NFL Draft.

We take a look at some memorable moments from April 26 in years gone by.

2003 – Debutant Rudolph slays Tigers

It was 17 years ago when Rudolph – aged just 21 – arrived on the Test scene with a magnificent 222 not out in South Africa's innings-and-60-run hammering of Bangladesh in Chittagong.

The cultured left-hander put on 429 with Boeta Dippenaar, which represented a South Africa record and 10th highest stand in Test history.

A masterful innings laid the platform for a mammoth victory, with Bangladesh finally put out of their misery with Graeme Smith's declaration.

Rudolph played 48 Tests in total for the Proteas, scoring 2,622 runs in the longest format.

2011 – Neuer makes an impression against Red Devils

It is nine years since Manuel Neuer produced the kind of performance that displayed why he was quickly becoming recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in the world

The record books show a 2-0 defeat for Schalke in their Champions League semi-final home leg against Manchester United.

But the situation would have been much worse had it not been for Neuer, who made a string of brilliant saves.

Neuer left for Bayern Munich at the end of the campaign and he has won seven Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokals and a Champions League with Die Roten, also becoming a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014.

2012 – Andrew's Luck in with Colts 

Big things were expected of Luck when he was selected first with the overall pick of the 2012 draft by the Colts, who were looking for an heir apparent to Peyton Manning.

Having impressed at college level with Stanford, losing out on the Heisman Trophy to Robert Griffin III – who went second in the draft, Luck was regarded as one of the best quarterback prospects in years.

He led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three years, including the AFC Championship game in the 2014 season.

But Luck's career became dogged by injuries and, despite winning the NFL's Comeback of the Year award in 2018, he retired prior to the 2019 season at the age of 29 in one of the biggest shocks in the league's history.  

2018 – Browns go for Baker

After going 0-16 in the 2017 season, the Browns had the top pick for the second year running.

Mayfield had a stellar college career, including winning the Heisman in 2017, but had caused some controversy with his on-field antics.

Still, the Browns went for Mayfield over other prospects such as Sam Darnold and Josh Allen.

In his first season, Mayfield entered during a week-three win over the New York Jets as the Browns went 7-8. In the 2019 season, where Mayfield started every game, the Browns were 6-10.