IND vs SA 1st Test: Transforming into a new role in Test cricket, KL Rahul was the biggest highlight for India on a challenging Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion. Rahul, who is playing as a wicket-keeper in Test cricket for the first time, scored a sublime unbeaten 70 to take India on even terms with South Africa at 208/8 at stumps. His brilliance now sees him join an elite list of Indian wicket-keepers with a special record outside India.
The opening Day of the Test saw the fight to tooth and nail as both sides looked to stamp an early authority. With India being 107/5, Rahul took charge coming in at six to take India out of the precarious situation. He played South Africa's most threatening bowler - Kagiso Rabada extremely well to bring up his fifty. Rahul's knock now sees him joining the likes of MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant in a special record.
Rahul has become only the third Indian wicket-keeper to score a fifty-plus knock outside India across all three formats. Before him, only Dhoni and Pant could have achieved the feat. Rahul has batted as a wicket-keeper in ODIs and T20Is before and has fifty-plus knocks in both those formats outside India. However, this is the first time he is playing as a wicket-keeper in Tests and got to the milestone in the first asking.
The 31-year-old came in to bat at six when India were at 92/4 and then quickly 107/5 with no recognised batter alongside him. In the company of bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur, he took India to 208 before rain forced early stumps in the final session.
To start with, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill fell cheaply before a spirited fightback from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. The Kohli-Iyer pair racked a 68-run stand for the 4th wicket before the latter fell, leaving India at 92/4 and Rahul coming in.
