Watch: KL Rahul gets a standing ovation from Rinku Singh as he hits Gerald Coetzee for a six to complete his 100 in Centurion

KL Rahul scored his 8th Test century.

KL Rahul was the hero for the Indian team in their first innings of the ongoing first Test against South Africa. This match is being played at the SuperSport Park Stadium in Centurion and saw Temba Bavuma, the home captain winning the toss and choosing to bowl first.

The start of the Test and toss was delayed due to heavy rain and damp spots on the pitch, hence Bavuma’s decision to bowl first was appreciated. And his bowlers, particularly Kagiso Rabada proved his decision was the right one.

South African bowlers dominated the Indian batting on day one, with Kagiso Rabada taking five wickets. Rohit Sharma (5), Virat Kohli (38), Shreyas Iyer (31) Shardul Thakur (24) and R Ashwin (8) were among his victims.

KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur had combined 43 runs for the seventh wicket to help India recover from a 121/6 deficit. However, after Shardul was dismissed, Rahul was forced to negotiate a strike with the tail-enders as India finished the first day on 208/8 with Rahul on 70*.

The second day’s play was again postponed owing to rain, but once it began, Rahul began hitting boundaries while milking the strike nicely. He scored 27 runs alongside Jasprit Bumrah and 47 important runs alongside Mohammed Siraj.

Rahul went on to get a stunning century with a six and was the last man out for 101, hitting 14 fours and four sixes in his innings. India scored 245 runs in their first innings thanks to his efforts. Kagiso Rabada took 5/59 for South Africa, while rookie Nandre Burger took 3/50.

Rinku Singh and Indian dugout give KL Rahul a standing ovation for his century

KL Rahul had been a talking point ahead of this Test as he was named the first-choice keeper for the series. After his good performance with the bat and gloves in the Asia Cup and World Cup previously, Rahul was gearing up to do the same job in Tests as well.

With India in dire need of some help after losing easy early wickets, KL Rahul took up the challenge and took India to a decent total. He received much-deserved applause from his teammates on the ground, the crowd present to watch his knock, and the opposition as well.

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