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KL Rahul & Marco Jansen (Source: Twitter)
India's wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul is known for his calm and composed nature both on and off the field. The star cricketer again displayed a similar attitude during the first India-South Africa Test in Centurion. The visitors were in big trouble after a top-order collapse on Day 1 (December 26), but a rock-solid Rahul steadied the ship and helped his team reach a decent first innings total before stumps.
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A moment from the final session on the opening day has gone viral on social media. In the 45th over, Proteas pacer Marco Jansen lost his temper and tried to engage in a heated exchange with Rahul. Jansen hurled a mouthful at the batter, but the response was just a smile, and his cool gesture won the hearts of fans.
The right-arm seamer's aggressive sledging came after Rahul had hammered him for successive boundaries a few over earlier and a six over sweeper cover right before the incident.
Watch the video below:
— Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) December 26, 2023
Rahul takes India past 200, Rabada shines with fifer
India's top three went early to the pavilion after being asked to bat first on a challenging pitch at Centurion's SuperSport Park. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then made a recovery with a 60-plus partnership. However, both departed in their 30s and India were again in trouble. Rahul then played a brilliant knock with a half-century to take India past 200. All-rounder Shardul Thakur also played an effective role.
Meanwhile, rain played spoilsport in the final session on Day 1, washing out nearly 30 overs. India posted a total of 208/8 in 59 overs with KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj unbeaten with respective scores of 70(105)* and 0(10)*. Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as the right-arm speedster took a fifer, including the dangerous wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.