Following his courageous century on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test between India and South Africa, KL Rahul has been gaining praise from the cricket community. Social media was used by the renowned Sachin Tendulkar, who struck five hundred while playing in South Africa, to show off his admiration for the Karnataka batter.
Day 1 at the Super Sport Park in Centurion saw KL Rahul come into bat with India struggling at 92/4. This came following a vital 68-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. India collapsed to 121/6 as KL Rahul watched wickets tumble at the other end. The 31-year-old did not appear to be bothered, though. In tough circumstances, he persevered and finished Day 1 undefeated at 70. He went on to achieve his eighth Test century overall and his seventh overseas on Day 2. After the right-handed batsman produced a superb knock of 101 off 137 balls, the tourists were eventually bowled out for 245—a score that would have been much lower.
Well played @klrahul. What impressed me was his clarity of thought. His footwork looked precise and assured, and that happens when a batter is thinking right. This century is crucial in the context of this Test. India would be happy with 245 considering where they were at one… pic.twitter.com/Dtw9HpjAIC
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 27, 2023
“Great work, @klrahul. His reasoning process was really clear, which impressed me. A hitter who is thinking correctly will have assured and precise footwork. In the context of this test, this century is significant. Considering where they were at one point yesterday, India would be delighted with 245 “Tendulkar posts on his official ‘X’ (previously known as Twitter) profile.
Not everyone in South Africa will be pleased with their bowling performance. Sachin Tendulkar
Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger, two talented bowlers from South Africa, received special attention from the former captain of India. On his debut, the latter took out Shubman Gill, Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Conversely, Coetzee bowled with a lot of pace and took just one wicket. On conditions that favoured them, Tendulkar observed that the Proteas would not be overly impressed with their bowling performance.
“The South African bowling lineup appears to be strengthened by the acquisition of Andre Burger and Gerald Coetzee. Tendulkar remarked, “Given the circumstances, I think South Africa won’t be too pleased with their bowling performance.”
India
