Centurion: Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi survived a spell of menacing bowling from India to take South Africa to 49/1 in 16 overs at lunch on day two’s play in the first Test at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. As of now, South Africa trail India by 196 runs after KL Rahul’s fantastic 101 took India to a respectable 245 in their first innings.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were menacing in the first hour of South Africa’s innings, finding the swing to trouble Elgar and Aiden Markram. Siraj drew the first blood by removing Markram in the fourth over with a jaffa of an outswinger to depart for just five.
Elgar and de Zorzi played the ball late with soft hands to take boundaries off Siraj, showing the resolve to grind it out in tough conditions. Elgar, playing his last Test series, feasted on a half-volley from debutant Prasidh Krishna to sweetly drive through cover and went on to elegantly pull and poke late to end the session on a high for South Africa.
Elgar is unbeaten on 29 while de Zorzi is 12 not out in a hard-fought start for South Africa. Earlier in the day, India added 47 runs to their overnight score of 208/8, with Rahul getting to score 101 off 137 balls, as well as taking the responsibility to add crucial runs with the tail.
Batting for just the second time in the middle-order in Tests after nine years, Rahul mixed caution and aggression well enough to counter the bounce and swinging ball while pouncing on the loose deliveries, as he took India from 121/6 to a respectable score of 245, through his knock of 101.
In really testing conditions and challenging pitch which was conducive for fast-bowlers, Rahul made his comeback to Test cricket memorable by scoring one of his best hundreds in the format, with the crowd and entire Indian dressing room giving him a standing ovation.
The knock of 101, laced with 14 fours and four sixes, was Rahul’s second century at this venue, the most by any overseas batter in Tests, and also his seventh ton in the format outside of India. Rahul is also the second Indian wicketkeeper-batter to score a hundred in Tests in South Africa after Rishabh Pant made one at Cape Town in January 2022.
Day two began with a 25-minute delay due to wet outfield and light drizzle. Shortly after, Rahul was beaten four consecutive times by Kagiso Rabada, who earned a five-for on day one and had to maintain his patience while facing the moving ball. A full and wide delivery from Gerland Coetzee got Rahul a boundary via a square-drive and followed it up by cutting Rabada over third man for four more.
Coetzee again bowled fuller and Rahul was quick to drive past mid-off for four, while Rabada was calmly tucked through leg-side for another boundary. Rahul then pulled Rabada for a six over deep square leg and despite losing Siraj, he got his hundred with a stylish pull over deep mid-wicket for six, with Ravi Shastri saying on-air that it is his best Test century.
After getting his hundred in 133 balls, Rahul couldn’t last long as Nandre Burger cleaned up his middle-stump. But his knock ensured that India got a solid total on board which was a distant possibility at one point, as Rahul became the only batter from India to have a fifty-plus knock in their innings.
Brief Scores: India 245 in 67.4 overs (KL Rahul 101; Kagiso Rabada 5-44) lead South Africa 49/1 in 16 overs (Dean Elgar 29 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1-19) by 196 runs
(IANS)
