KL Rahul Becomes First Visitor Batter To A Remarkable Milestone At Centurion

KL Rahul's fighting ton took IND to 245 in Centurion Test (AP Photo)

Indian batter KL Rahul stood amidst the ruins to rescue India from a tough position and scored a magnificent century against South Africa in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test on Wednesday, December 27, at SuperSport Park, Centurion. 

The wicketkeeper-batter stepped up to the plate when India was struggling due to a top-order collapse. KL Rahul went on to score an impressive 101 runs from 137 balls, featuring 14 boundaries and 4 sixes. Partnering seamlessly with the tailenders, he guided India to a total beyond 200. 

Notably, this was the second century that KL Rahul scored at Centurion. He scored a magnificent 123 runs from 260 balls against South Africa back in 2021. In doing so, he made history by becoming the first visiting batter to score two centuries at this venue, a feat still unmatched by any other player.

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Celebrating a Comeback for the Ages

The 31-year-old made a notable comeback in this series after being dropped from the test team for a lacklustre display in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier in the year. Interestingly, he was included in the South Africa tour as a backup wicketkeeper-batter. 

However, the management chose to offer him an opportunity and handed him the wicket-keeping role in the first Centurion Test. Rahul, in outstanding form since his return from injury during the Asia Cup 2023, once again proved his mettle by seizing the opportunity with both hands.

KL Rahul aside, Virat Kohli stood out as the second-highest run-getter for India, securing 38 runs. Shreyas Iyer played a crucial role by adding 31 runs, contributing to Team India's total of 245 runs. 

At the time of writing, Mohammed Siraj has already scalped the wicket of Aiden Markram, with South Africa reeling at 33-1 after 10 overs.

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