Scoring runs in South Africa is not a cakewalk for any batsman. The task becomes tougher for an opener as he has to survive the early spell of the pacers on pitches, which have bounce and swing on offer.
India has not fared well in the rainbow nation in the last few Test series, one of the reasons being their openers not providing them a good start. However, the ongoing red-ball series between India and South Africa began on a positive note for the visiting nation, courtesy of a solid show from their opening batsman.
As India opted to bat first, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul put up a 117-run partnership for the opening wicket. Mayank perished after scoring 60 runs but Rahul continued his outstanding show of batsmanship. Making the run-scoring look very easy, Rahul soon brought up his first Test ton in South Africa.
Wasim Jaffer congratulated KL Rahul as the Karnataka-born batsman joined him in the list of Indian openers to have a Test century in South Africa. Sharing a congratulatory message on Twitter, Jaffer posted a humorous meme from a famous Bollywood movie ‘Welcome.’
“Welcome to the exclusive club of Indian openers with a Test hundred in SA @klrahul11 ? very well played ?? #SAvIND,” Jaffer tweeted.
Welcome to the exclusive club of Indian openers with a Test hundred in SA @klrahul11 😁 very well played 👏🏼 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/Fjz2RRA4aA
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 26, 2021
Noticeably, Jaffer was the first Indian opener to score a Test century in South Africa. Rahul achieved the same feat in the ongoing Test match between the 2 nations and became only the second Indian opener after Jaffer to do so.
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Before the Day 1 ended, India managed to score 272 runs at the fall of 3 wickets. Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane are unbeaten on 122 and 40 runs respectively. As Day 2 was a complete washout, India will look to score quick runs today.