Rahul stayed uneaten on 70 on a difficult batting wicket at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first. The visitors got off to a terrible start in tough batting conditions, losing three wickets for just 24 runs. While Kagiso Rabada dismissed India skipper Rohit Sharma (5), Nandre Burger got rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) and Shubman Gill (2).
Amid the pressure situation, Virat Kohli (38) and Shreyas Iyer (31) added 68 runs for the fourth wicket to steady the ship. However, Rabada removed both of them in quick succession in the post-lunch session.
Following their dismissals, KL Rahul rose to the occasion for India. Playing his first Test as a wicketkeeper-batter, Rahul batted with aggressive intent to notch up his half-century off 80 balls.
While India kept losing wickets at regular intervals, Rahul held the one end firmly. He forged a crucial 43-run stand with Shardul Thakur and hit some glorious boundaries to take the tourists over the 200-run mark.
India were 208/8 after 59 overs with Rahul batting on 70* off 105 balls (10 fours and 2 sixes) when the rain interrupted play and forced the officials to call off the day eventually.
For his sublime half-century on a difficult batting wicket, KL Rahul received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media platform X.
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