Team India batter KL Rahul’s prolific connection with Centurion continued in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. He brought up his century on Wednesday, December 27 at the venue. India put on 245 runs on the back of his knock in the first innings of the test match.
KL Rahul walked out to bat when India was in a spot of bother having lost four wickets for 92 runs. They soon lost Virat Kohli’s wicket. However, KL Rahul kept one end strong. He batted with the lower order to take India past the 200-run mark. He also had to change gears during the later part of his innings, to get to his century.
In the sixty-sixth over, the veteran batter slammed a six off Gerald Coetzee over deep mid-wicket. Coetzee bowled a fuller delivery on the stumps, KL Rahul cleared his front leg and smoked it for an outstanding six. He brought up his century with the maximum. The Indian dressing room broke out in applause to celebrate the valiant effort by the wicketkeeper batter. This is KL Rahul’s second consecutive century at the venue.
A magnificent CENTURY for @klrahul 👏👏
He's stood rock solid for #TeamIndia as he brings up his 8th Test 💯
His second Test century in South Africa.#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/lQhNuUmRHi
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 27, 2023
The stunning innings came to an end as KL Rahul was bowled by Nandre Burger. The right-handed batter slammed 101 runs off 137 deliveries with fourteen boundaries and six sixes in the innings. His knock put India in a good position, despite losing wickets at regular intervals in the innings.
KL Rahul joins a rare list with Centurion hundred
KL Rahul became the second wicket-keeper batter from India to score a Test century in South Africa. Rishabh Pant is the first Indian to achieve the feat. He slammed a century last year against South Africa at Cape Town. Meanwhile, KL Rahul also became the first visiting batter to score multiple hundreds at Centurion. This is his second consecutive century at the venue. He had crossed the three-figure mark in 2022 as well.
Let your bat do the talking @klrahul 💯👏👏 #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/SYELwF8pGM
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 27, 2023
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
Gutsy knock in challenging conditions. The discipline and shot selection absolutely spot on 👌🏽Really liked how late he played and when he played his shots there were no half measures. Well played @klrahul 👏🏽 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/9JXu1J2Bie
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 27, 2023
A century that KL Rahul will be extremely proud of. Everyone goes through ups and downs but this young man, as some of us have been saying for a while, is a very rare talent.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 27, 2023
Klass as always 🫡 @klrahul
— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) December 27, 2023
One of the finest overseas Test 💯 by an Indian batter I have ever seen… Take a bow @klrahul 🙌
A 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ to be remembered for tremendous application, resilience, class and exquisite strokeplay under severe crisis! Breathtaking innings man! 🏏🔥#INDvsSA #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/AOAcUvI6Vg
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) December 27, 2023
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