KL Rahul stood up tall for India in tough batting conditions on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Tuesday (December 26).
Playing his first Test as a wicketkeeper-batter, Rahul slammed a brilliant half-century when the visitors were struggling at 92/4.
The right-hander ended the rain-marred opening day on 70 not out off 105 balls (10 fours and 2 sixes), taking India to 208/8 after 59 overs.
Following the day’s play, India batting coach Vikram Rathour expressed admiration for KL Rahul's outstanding performance, calling him a "man of crisis".
"He's certainly going to be a man of crisis for us I think. Every time there are tough situations and most of the times he's there. He's the guy who handles those situations really well.
"He was very clear with his game plans, what he wanted to do, defended the right balls, attacked the right balls," Rathour said at the press conference.
Keeping the conditions in mind, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first. The tourists got off to a terrible start, 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, Rahul rose to the occasion for India. Heading into the second day, he has Mohammed Siraj for company with Prasidh Krishna to follow.
"The conditions were tough for the batting. After 3-4 games of cricket, lunch we ended at 91-43 I think. There was a good recovery and a good partnership between the two (Kohli and Iyer)," the batting coach stated, adding that Kohli looked in great touch during his stay in the middle.
Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball for South Africa on Day 1, claiming five wickets by conceding 44 runs in his 17 overs. Nandre Burger also picked up a couple of scalps.
(With IANS Inputs)
