India’s batting coach, Vikram Rathour, praised KL Rahul’s resilience in challenging conditions on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion.
Rahul played a crucial role when the bowlers dominated in overcast conditions. His unbeaten 70 took India to 208/8 before rain and bad light brought an early end to the day’s play.
Describing Rahul as a “man for crisis,” Rathour commended his clarity in executing plans. He acknowledged Rahul’s consistency in handling tough situations.
“He is the man for a crisis. Every time there is a tough situation, most of the times he is there. He is very clear with his game plans, what he wants to do,” Rathour said after the day’s play.
Discussing the contributions of Virat Kohli (38) and Shreyas Iyer (31), Rathour applauded their crucial partnership, which helped India recover after losing three wickets.
“The conditions were tough. After losing three wickets, it was a good recovery partnership from Virat and Shreyas. They played well. The weather was an issue. The wicket was under cover for a day or more than that. It was always going to be challenging. We would have loved to have a couple more wickets in hand. But we have done reasonably well.”
Rathour addressed the scrutiny over Rohit Sharma’s shot selection, stating that the team management supports the skipper’s approach.
“This is the shot he scores a lot of runs with. This is his shot. So, he is going to play this shot. Some days, it will come off. Some days, it won’t. Today, it didn’t. We have heard people say he is the best puller in the world. He believes in it. We are okay, as a team management we are backing it,” said Rathour.
This was my day: Rabada
South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada was the standout bowler. He recorded a first-ever five-wicket haul against India. “This was my day. Pretty happy with the way I bowled. India have quite a bit of experience and if anyone told us that it will be 208/8, we would have taken that before the game,” he said.
Discussing the delivery that accounted for Kohli, Rabada said the ball swung away late. “For some reason, most of the times he played and missed, he covered the channel. With him, you always need to be on. I was glad that I could get that fainty (faint edge),” Rabada said.
Commending Rahul’s resilient batting, Rabada spoke of his shot selection, solid defence and overall performance on a challenging day. “His (stroke-making) options were good, he defended well. There’s always someone who stands out and he was that batter today.”