South Africa’s batsman Dean Elgar performs a shot throughout the second day of the Test cricket match between South Africa and India.
| Photo Credit: AP
The solar barely made an look on Wednesday. That didn’t matter: two glowing hundred lit up the second day of the primary Test on the SuperSport Park.
If Ok.L. Rahul (101, 137b, 14×4, 4×6) helped India publish a good complete — it regarded greater than that within the first half of the day — Dean Elgar (140 batting, 211b, 23×4) ensured South Africa had its nose in entrance.
The host was 256 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 11.
Earlier, the gamers had been greeted by the sight of covers on the bottom, however cricket obtained underway with a delay of simply 25 minutes. India, which resumed at 208 for eight, wanted Rahul to increase his keep on the difficult wicket. He did that in some fashion.
His companion Mohammed Siraj held on for some time, a bit like what Pat Cummins has been doing of late. Their ninth-wicket stand was price 47 when the seamer — his contribution was 5 runs — was caught behind off Gerald Coetzee.
Rahul now wanted some assist from his Karnataka teammate and debutant Prasidh Krishna to finish his hundred. He obliged, because the duo took a fast bye, which introduced Rahul again on strike towards Coetzee.
Off the final ball of the over, he reached his hundred swinging the younger fast over mid-wicket for a six. This floor appears to Rahul what Lord’s was to Dilip Vengsarkar; it’s his second hundred in as many Tests.
And it must be top-of-the-line knocks of his profession. On a troublesome pitch, in robust situations, towards menacing Kagiso Rabada, backed by three different pacers, and with the Indian innings in unhealthy form, he performed brilliantly.
He defended solidly, picked the fitting balls to hit, and he hit it with admirable management. Two years in the past, his century had come because the opener, and now he’s the middle-order batter-wicketkeeper. He is flexible.
Rahul’s aptitude and fluency was hardly a shock. But Elgar’s urgency to attain and the frequency of fluent drives could have stunned fairly a number of.
The opener has introduced that he could be retiring from worldwide cricket on the finish of the sequence. The approach he batted instructed that there was some cricket nonetheless left in him. He must be significantly glad that he might lastly rating a Test hundred on his residence floor.
He wasn’t the one Proteas batter that placed on a show of engaging strokeplay. Debutant David Bedingham (56, 87b, 7×4, 2×6) batted fantastically too. He has needed to look forward to 86 First Class matches earlier than getting this chance.
His innings urged he might have been thought of earlier. He regarded assured and was relaxed, as he and Elgar placed on 131 for the fourth wicket.
Siraj had supplied an early breakthrough for India, making Aiden Markram edge a supply that moved away late. Then Jasprit Bumrah had Tony de Zorzi, recent from his success within the ODI sequence, caught at slip, and Keegan Peterson enjoying on. The pleasure proved short-lived for India.
