CENTURIAN: India batting coach Vikram Rathour expressed admiration for KL Rahul's outstanding performance on the first day of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion and lauded him as a "man of crisis" for his exceptional touch and skillful strokeplay during his unbeaten half-century.
The South African quicks managed to reduce India to 92/4 on a challenging first day. However, KL Rahul emerged as the savior, guiding India back into contention with an impressive unbeaten 70. This remarkable effort helped India reach 208/8 by the day's end, a position that appeared improbable earlier on.
"He's certainly going to be a man of crisis for us I think. Every time there are tough situations and most of the times he's there. He's the guy who handles those situations really well. "He was very clear with his game plans, what he wanted to do, defended the right balls, attacked the right balls, " Rathour said at the press conference after the day's play.
In light of the conditions, South Africa chose to bowl first, capitalizing on early opportunities to challenge India's relatively inexperienced middle-order. Although Virat Kohli held the fort for a period alongside Shreyas Iyer, once the Proteas managed to dismiss them, the responsibility of anchoring the batting fell squarely on Rahul's shoulders.
"The conditions were tough for the batting. After 3-4 games of cricket, lunch we ended at 91-43 I think. There was a good recovery and a good partnership between the two (Kohli and Iyer), " the batting coach said, adding that Kohli looked in great nick during his stay in the middle.
Rathour was certain that India had done a reasonable job despite the early collapse. India will resume on 208/8 after rain cut short play on day one.
Rahul, unbeaten on 70, has Mohammed Siraj for company with Prasidh Krishna to follow.