NEW DELHI: In tough batting conditions, and his team in tatters,
KL Rahul
produced one of the finest knocks of his career and bailed India out of troubled waters on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion on Tuesday.
With a gritty unbeaten 70, Rahul took India to 208 for 8 at stumps on a rain-curtained day when the Proteas pacers were at their absolute best.
While India kept on losing regular wickets at one end, Rahul held the fort at the other to keep India alive in the first innings.
Lauding the heroic effort from the middle-order batter, legendary
Sunil Gavaskar
said that Rahul has been a different batter since his return from injury.
Pointing out Rahul looked 'lost' earlier, Gavaskar said the 31-year-old has approached his batting differently across formats since his return.
“We've known about his talent for such a long time, but we are getting to see it in the last eight, nine months, ever since his comeback from this horrific injury that he had in the IPL, it's a different Rahul. It's a Rahul that we have been yearning to see for such a long time and such a delight to see. I said it in commentary as well that this half century to me, is as good as a century,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports
“When you're out of the game for such a long time, the game that you love, the game that has given you everything, almost everything, you tend to get a different perspective, and that's precisely what he seems to have done. And now, instead of looking at it as a chore, I think he's looking at it as a sport and to be enjoyed. I could be completely wrong, but this is the impression I get because there's so much positivity about his every movement. Earlier on, he used to seem a little bit lost. He's not lost now. He's there, very much there. And that tells you the way he's approaching batting that century at the Asia Cup, that first game was a very good century. You could say lucky that
Shreyas Iyer
did hurt his back and so he got an opportunity to get into the XI. But that's what you need in life. You need a bit of luck, but then you need to grab that with both hands. And that's what he's done. And now he's made himself undroppable in all three formats,” he added.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri too was in awe of the Rahul knock, labelling it 'pretty amazing'.
“He has made batting look easy. When you look at his footwork and the balance, it was pretty amazing. The knock also shows that the number is right for him in Test match cricket. I think he will get a lot of runs for India in the middle order,” Shastri said on air.
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