{ "id": "90567", "author": "21", "cnmid": "0", "title": "SA v IND: Rahul Sets Up India's Perfect Day At Centurion", "lang": "en", "series": "477", "cup_year": "2021", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "SA v IND: India Score 272\/3 vs South Africa on Day 1 of 1st Test", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

SA v IND: <\/strong>KL Rahul's century has set up India nicely on day 1 of the three-match test series and not let the host have a home advantage here at Centurion. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Indian captain, Virat Kohli, won the toss and opted to bat first under overcast conditions. His call turned out to be a good one as the openers responded well. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Both Rahul and Mayank Agarwal were watchful and left anything that was on a length outside the off-stump. As the batters showed discipline against length, South African bowlers had to try different tactics which the openers targetted but with soft hands. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mayank, in particular, looked solid with his hand-eye coordination to put the bad balls to the boundary. Debutant Marco Jensen did create a massive chance when he got the edge off Mayank's bat but Quinton de Kock couldn't grab it. Rahul was a bit more on the defense. Both Karnataka statemates had a good understanding as they ran well between the wickets. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The second session began with Mayank reaching his fifty in 89 balls. He, along with Rahul, drove the ball well as the two put in a 100-run stand - the third an Indian opening pair in 21 test matches in South Africa, and also only the second instance in 52 innings of a visiting opening pair putting together 100+ partnership in Centurion. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Lungi Ngidi finally beat Mayank on the full with a nip-backer that crashed into his pads. On review, the DRS showed the ball hitting the stumps as Mayank got out to a well-made 60 off 123 balls. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On the very next ball, Ngidi got the extra bounce that got Cheteshwar Pujara's top edge and was caught at short leg as India lost two wickets in a row. Kohli negated the hattrick ball well. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kohli and Rahul began the rebuilding process. Rahul reached his fifty with a classic cover drive. The Kohli-Rahul duo looked solid as they added 82 runs for the third wicket in 171 balls. Kohli was in total comfort at the crease, playing at a control percent of over 93, but nicked one to slips after attempting to drive a very wide delivery. Kohli scored 35 off 94 balls. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The under-fire Ajinkya Rahane began his innings with a boundary to settle the nerves. Rahul soon brought up his first century in South Africa and became only the second opener to score a century in South Africa. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Rahane played with some good positive approach, hitting boundaries on every opportunity he got as he added 73runs in 131 balls with Rahul. India ended the day in a dominating position with the score reading 272\/3. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

1st #INDvSA<\/a> Test (Day 1) - #TeamIndia<\/a> In Strong Position
Scorecard @ https:\/\/t.co\/oo3Gy03xDN<\/a>#KLRahul<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/j9tsBzSWyF<\/a><\/p>— CRICKETNMORE (@cricketnmore) December 26, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>