IND vs SA: 'What Impressed Me Was...' Sachin Tendulkar And Legends Heap Praises On KL Rahul Ton In Centurion

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IND vs SA: India's wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul made a stunning comeback to Test cricket as he scored a century against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday (December 27).

After a spell of poor Test form, KL emerged victorious on a hard Centurion surface. Reaching the crease at 92/4, the middle-order batsman batted alongside lower middle-order and lower-order batsmen for the majority of his knock to record an innings-long comeback ton. We take a look at Twitter's reaction.

With 14 fours and 4 sixes in 137 balls, he struck at a strike rate exceeding 75. He scored 101. With his century of 123 at Centurion in 2021, KL became the first visiting batsman to score multiple hundreds at the ground.

KL is the fourth Asian hitter in South Africa to score at least two hundreds: Azhar Mahmood of Pakistan, Thilan Samaraweera of Sri Lanka, and Virat Kohli of India. With 500, Sachin Tendulkar is the leader.

KL has played six Test matches in South Africa, accumulating 357 runs at an average of 32.45, including two tons and a fifty in eleven innings. With five of his eight Test centuries coming in these conditions, the batsman has excelled for India in tough SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) conditions. Australia has reached its 100th century, and England has reached its second.

KL Rahul and the Boxing Day Test continue to have a unique bond. KL made his Test debut on Boxing Day at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), however he was unable to leave an impression. KL hit 123 and 23 in his second Boxing Day Test at Centurion in 2021, leading India to a 113-run victory over South Africa.

He has now hit a century in his Test comeback in tough conditions in the third Boxing Day Test. Prior to this, KL recovered from injury to make a successful ODI return. He ran to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup (452 runs in 10 innings with a century and two fifties) and was instrumental in India's victory in the Asia Cup (169 runs in three innings).

KL has amassed 1,199 runs at an average of 59.95 in international cricket this year, with three hundreds and seven fifties. His highest rating is 111*. He now has a T20I return to look forward to.

When the game started, SA decided India bat first. The pacers struggled and eventually reduced India to 24/3. After that, India was rescued by a partnership between Virat Kohli (38 in 64 balls, five fours) and Shreyas Iyer (31 in 50 balls, three fours, and a six), which added 68 runs.

Later, KL Rahul's strong 70* in 105 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes, and a quick counterattack by Shardul Thakur (24 in 33 balls, with three balls) helped India reach 208/8 at the close of the first day. On the second day, KL hammered his century and led India to 245 all out.

Proteas wickets included Kagiso Rabada (5/44) Nandre Burger (3/50) and Marco Jansen (1/52). Gerald Coetzee secured a wicket as well.