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South Africa was impoverished. India had bad luck.
Amazing was Kagiso Rabada. Bullish was KL Rahul. Thirty-one barriers were
crossed. There were eight wickets taken. The stadium was nearly filled. There
was a terrific mood. There was a point to prove on this Boxing Day.
Centurion’s 59 action-packed overs have left the game
seeming evenly balanced, albeit not completely simple to assess. Of course, the
headline is that South Africa leads India 208 to 8, so they shouldn’t be too
disappointed with their performance until the rain forced them to leave the
pitch. Almost everyone, that is. Teenagers swarmed the pitch, plunging into the
covers one after the other.
SuperSport Park provided must-watch material. All was
not well, though. You were more likely to see the ball sneak down leg at the
beginning of play than it was to stay on target. A new, green pitch that was
providing significant assistance along the X and Y axis was being squandered by
the hosts. But after lunch, Rabada settled into a groove, recording his 14th
five-for in a Test match, and suddenly everything was different.
As expected in conditions that favour seamers, India
suffered early when put in to bat, forcing them into 17 false shots in the
opening 11.1 overs. Nevertheless, it was sufficient to produce three
significant wickets. The one of the two men on the boundary, Rohit Sharma.
Shubman Gill, strangled down the leg side. And Yashasvi Jaiswal, nicked off
driving on the up.
It was equally tough in the 14.5 overs left before
lunch, but India managed to avoid losing any wickets. After Iyer and Kohli were
both dropped on four, their twenty-one false strokes managed to secure 16 runs
at 4.5 an over in addition to a handful of wickets. That indicates the degree
to which luck is involved in this game. India first compensated for all of its
errors. After that, they had a few major breaks, and in the 26th over, they
scored 91 runs for 3, when it should have been 38 for 5.
Then Rabada took place.
When Rahul is out there trying to figure out the best
course of action, India appear to be in good hands. There was the 97 in the ODI
World Cup against Australia, the 39 in an Asia Cup thriller that ended in a
close victory, and now this, an undefeated 70 on a field that was completely
unsuitable for strokeplay. Ask Shardul Thakur, please. After only an hour
outside, he was struck in the head and arm.
The last time Rahul was in Centurion, he scored a
century, and they were also difficult circumstances. However, he was in a
comfortable position then, leading the batting with plenty of assistance
surrounding him. Here it was him or bust. And he didn’t let it go bust.