Day 1 of the first Test: Rahul manages India’s turbulence
KL and Mayank begin their South African tour with a 117-run partnership in India’s 272/3.
Indian cricket emerged from the darkness engulfed it at the SuperSport Arena for a fortnight. As rare as they come in South Africa, a superb first-day batting performance refocused attention on cricket, as it should. The scandals and slander that had dominated the build-up, the negativity that had accumulated. And the doubts and dervishes that lingered were all dispelled in one riveting day of cricket.
It felt like a day from a dream. The openers not only made it through the first session unscathed but also stitched a 117-run partnership. Only the third time an Indian opening pair had put on a century-stand on these treacherous shores.
It was the first time in 14 years that the openers had survived the first session of the first Test outside Asia (India has been historically shoddy starters). To add to the positive thread, KL Rahul, unbeaten on 122. Demonstrated that his century in England was not a one-off but the start of a genuinely fruitful phase.
Much of their dominance was due to Rahul’s ongoing renaissance as a genuinely world-class opening batsman.
With all of those lauded characteristics, pundits tagged him with potential greatness. But it’s his resolve, and thus his blossoming maturity, that could clear his path to dizzying heights since the series in England. Before the England series, he made a few technical changes. Such as shortening his trigger movement and keeping his hands closer to his body than before, but it’s his mental toughness that shines through his comeback.
He was almost ascetic in his abstinence under the menacing, gloomy skies. Even when South Africa’s rusty bowlers erred in length, which they frequently did, his mind remained unwavering. He patiently walked away from anything that didn’t endanger his stumps. He resisted the urge to cut and drive, as well as the instinctive poke outside the off-stump.
