SA v IND: Rahul Sets Up India's Perfect Day At Centurion

SA v IND: KL Rahul's century has set up India nicely on day 1 of the three-match test series and not let the host have a home advantage here at Centurion. 

Indian captain, Virat Kohli, won the toss and opted to bat first under overcast conditions. His call turned out to be a good one as the openers responded well. 

Both Rahul and Mayank Agarwal were watchful and left anything that was on a length outside the off-stump. As the batters showed discipline against length, South African bowlers had to try different tactics which the openers targetted but with soft hands. 

Mayank, in particular, looked solid with his hand-eye coordination to put the bad balls to the boundary. Debutant Marco Jensen did create a massive chance when he got the edge off Mayank's bat but Quinton de Kock couldn't grab it. Rahul was a bit more on the defense. Both Karnataka statemates had a good understanding as they ran well between the wickets. 

The second session began with Mayank reaching his fifty in 89 balls. He, along with Rahul, drove the ball well as the two put in a 100-run stand - the third an Indian opening pair in 21 test matches in South Africa, and also only the second instance in 52 innings of a visiting opening pair putting together 100+ partnership in Centurion. 

Lungi Ngidi finally beat Mayank on the full with a nip-backer that crashed into his pads. On review, the DRS showed the ball hitting the stumps as Mayank got out to a well-made 60 off 123 balls. 

On the very next ball, Ngidi got the extra bounce that got Cheteshwar Pujara's top edge and was caught at short leg as India lost two wickets in a row. Kohli negated the hattrick ball well. 

Kohli and Rahul began the rebuilding process. Rahul reached his fifty with a classic cover drive. The Kohli-Rahul duo looked solid as they added 82 runs for the third wicket in 171 balls. Kohli was in total comfort at the crease, playing at a control percent of over 93, but nicked one to slips after attempting to drive a very wide delivery. Kohli scored 35 off 94 balls. 

The under-fire Ajinkya Rahane began his innings with a boundary to settle the nerves. Rahul soon brought up his first century in South Africa and became only the second opener to score a century in South Africa. 

Rahane played with some good positive approach, hitting boundaries on every opportunity he got as he added 73runs in 131 balls with Rahul. India ended the day in a dominating position with the score reading 272/3. 

Brief Scorecard: 

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India - 272/3 in 90 overs (KL Rahul - 122*, Lungi Ngidi - 3/45)