India scored 208/8 at the end of day one's play in 1st Test at Centurion.
The match which is being played at SuperSport Park in Centurion, saw Temba Bavuma winning the toss and choosing to bat in overcast conditions and damp pitch. Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball, as he took 5/44 as the Indian top-order failed to counter the movement and bounce on a tricky pitch.
Virat Kohli (38), Shreyas Iyer (31) and Shardul Thakur (24) played good knocks, but the best came from KL Rahul, who made a gritty 70* in 105 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Thanks to him, India recovered from 121/6 and finished day one, which ended early due to rain, on 208/8.
Sanjay Manjrekar said Rahul has always had the ability and talent and showed how clear his mind is.
“When you look at that, you know, you can see how clear his mind is. The balls that were slightly outside off were left alone, balls that were close to the bat were defended, and anything that had a bit of room on it was punished. So he is in that state of mind. I keep talking about his state of mind because the ability of the talent has always been there,” said Manjrekar on Star Sports.
Manjrekar further stated that Rahul showed tremendous discipline, insisting that India have got enough runs to even take a lead. This was Rahul’s 14th half-century in Test cricket.
“The only issue he had were his own batting demons, which used to come to the fore when he used to open in Test matches. Down the order, something else took control of his mind. And that is just tremendous discipline in such fine margins. I think India has got enough runs on the board to even take a lead, considering the quality of Indian bowling and the quality of South African batting,” Manjrekar added.