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The Indian wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul smiled back at a frustrated Marco Jansen, who was trying to sledge him at the SuperSport Park in Centurion during Day 1 of the first Test. The Proteas managed to restrict the Men in Blue to 208/8 total in 59 overs before play was called off due to bad light and rain.
After winning the toss, the captain of South Africa, Temba Bavuma inserted India into batting first on a grassy pitch with clouds around at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. His decision proved to be correct after the Protea fast bowlers picked up three quick wickets of the Indian top order in the first hour of play.
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The captain of India, Rohit Sharma, who made his return to the national team, found the debutant Nandre Burger at the fine-leg region after Kagiso Rabada beat him for pace on the pull stroke for just 5 runs. Shortly after, Nandre Burger picked up two wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in quick succession to start his Test career on a high.
After Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer stitched together a 68-run stand for the fourth wicket, Kagiso Rabada broke open the game for South Africa by sending them both to the pavilion for 30s. It led to KL Rahul taking the responsibility to get India out of trouble, and during his enterprising innings, he was sledged by Marco Jansen, which made him smile back in glee in one of the moments of the day’s play.
Watch KL Rahul smile back at frustrated Marco Jansen here:
At the close of play on day one, KL Rahul was still unbeaten on 70 off 108, hitting 10 fours and two maximums to keep the Indians in the game. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada picked up yet another five-wicket haul in his Test career, showcasing his quality in the longest format of the game once again.
