Former Indian cricket team all-rounder Irfan Pathan lauded KL Rahul‘s gritty century on Day 2 of the first Test match against South Africa in Centurion with a reference to ‘Lord Hanuman’. Rahul was the top performer for India with a brilliant century as wickets kept falling on the other end and he was the main reason why India could reach the respectable total of 245. Pathan took to social media to post a video of Rahul’s batting along with the caption – Sankatmochan (the saviour – another name of Lord Hanuman).
Rahul flexed his batting muscles in the visitors’ middle-order as he scored 101 out of their total of 245, hitting 14 fours and four sixes.
“Batting in the middle-order, you can’t plan all that much, you just have to play the situation in front of you. I tried to walk in with a free mindset. The situation was quite clear, I was batting with the tail and had to take my chances,” he said.
SANKATMOCHAN @klrahul pic.twitter.com/ApxymmCJav
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 27, 2023
“It was quite difficult batting out there, there was a lot of juice and help for the bowlers and South Africa exploited it really well. So I just tried to get partnerships going.
“I quite enjoy playing here because… there is a fast outfield and you can get boundaries.”
On the other hand, South Africa’s Dean Elgar, who plays his domestic cricket for the Centurion-based Northerns Titans, ended Day 2 on 140 not out — his first Test century at his home ground.
It was an innings which showed brilliant composure on a testing pitch, and skill when it came to punishing loose deliveries. It included 23 fours and came off just 211 deliveries before bad light stopped play with South Africa 256 for five, leading by 11 runs in the first innings.
The left-hander, who retires after this two-Test series, previously scored home Test centuries in Cape Town and Gqeberha (two each), Durban, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg so he was delighted to complete the set.
(With AFP inputs)
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