New Delhi. Indian batsmen are seen struggling in the Centurion Test against South Africa (India vs South Africa). India’s score at stumps on the first day of the Boxing Day Test was 208 for eight. Wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul has so far been the only batsman who has braved the South African fast bowlers and is capable of playing long innings. Willpower is shown. Virat Kohli contributed 38 runs and Shreyas Iyer 31 runs but they were dismissed when they were set at the wicket.
Rohit Sharma lost his wicket very irresponsibly. Rabada while bowling with a special strategy provoked the ‘Hitman’ to play a pull shot by throwing a short ball and he was successful. Rohit played this shot without being set on the wicket and was caught by Berger on the boundary. Great opener Sunil Gavaskar seemed a little disappointed with the batsmen’s less than expected performance. He said that the Indian team needs a batsman like Ajinkya Rahane in the middle order.
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During a commentary on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, ‘People are talking about the Johannesburg Test wicket five years ago and I was there. It is true that batting on that pitch was not easy. She was jumping. At that time, Rahane, who was not picked in the first two Tests, was included in the playing eleven for the Johannesburg Test. Ajinkya showed with his batting what mistakes the Indian team made in the first two Tests as India did not lose by a big margin in the previous Tests. Rahane has proved to be an excellent batsman overseas. If he were here (in Centurion) today, the story would be completely different. Let us tell you that Rahane has scored 8 of his 12 Test centuries on foreign grounds.
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Scored 48 runs on a difficult wicket in Johannesburg
Commenting on the Test, Gavaskar said this while recalling Ajinkya’s brilliant innings in Johannesburg five years ago. ‘Sunny’ said how well Rahane batted on a difficult wicket where other Indian batsmen were struggling. Let us tell you. , in a Test played in Johannesburg in January 2018, Rahane played an innings of 48 runs in the second innings with six fours on a difficult wicket. He was India’s top scorer in this innings and India managed to win this Test by 63 runs.
Rahane was not included in the Indian playing XI for the first two Tests of the series in Cape Town and Centurion. India lost the first Test by 72 runs and the second Test by 135 runs.
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Tags: Ajinkya Rahane, India vs South Africa, Sunil Gavaskar
First published: December 27, 2023, 12:17 IST