'Kohli, Iyer’s Dropped Catches Didn’t Cost Us Much' - Kagiso Rabada

image-lqnq44imKagiso Rabada celebrating Virat Kohli’s wicket| Source: X.com

In a spectacular performance on Day 1, South African fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada tore through the Indian batting order, claiming his first ever five-wicket haul against India at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion.

Rabada kickstarted South Africa's party by sending Rohit Sharma packing early, and he didn't ease up, taking out Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ashwin, and Thakur to bag his first-ever five-wicket haul against India in Tests. 

After sitting out the white-ball series against India, Kagiso Rabada returned directly to the test scene. Opening up about his spell, Rabada honestly shared that he wasn't at full fitness and underwent rehab before his comeback. 


Here’s what Kagiso Rabada said in the press conference

“For me, I just try to get the ball in decent areas. Try to use all the skills from that area. I couldn’t do much because of the heel injury. The heel was sore really. I was doing a bit of rehab but the last two weeks, I was just trying to take rest as much as possible.”

Kagiso Rabada also touched upon the dropped catches of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, both of whom he later got out, expressing relief that the missed opportunities didn't turn out to be costly for South Africa.

“Yeah. Kohli and Iyer were going pretty well and we dropped both of them. Luckily, those dropped catches didn’t cost us much.”

Rabada further pointed out the challenging nature of the Centurion pitch for batting and emphasised the need for his team to take time while batting. Notably, India managed 245 runs in the first innings, with KL Rahul making a significant contribution of 101 runs. 

“The wicket looks a bit tricky to bat on. We have to bat well. But if you would ask us whether we would take this total after electing to bat, we would be happy and take it.”

Apart from Rabada Nandre Burger picked up a three wicket haul while Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee picked up one wicket each.