CHENNAI: Kagiso Rabada had just cleaned up Shreyas Iyer on an overcast Tuesday afternoon at Centurion — a sharp inswinger that went between the bat and pad, and hit the middle stump on the last ball of the first over after lunch. It was his 497th international wicket, 282nd in the format and second on the day. Having won the toss and put in India, in conditions that assisted the pacers, South Africa had reduced India to 92/4 with Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger and Marco Jansen yet to put a foot wrong.
Rabada, in particular, had been breathing fire. It is a format where he holds ground like no other, where his legend is less spoken of despite having the all-time best strike rate (39.3) for a pacer with a minimum of 200 wickets. Facing him in his next over was KL Rahul, the new batter, in his new role for the Indian Test team.
For the first time in nine years, Rahul is batting in the middle-order, and Rabada was not going to let him off easy. Two length deliveries, followed by two short balls, one of which Rahul tried to hook and missed and then back-of-length deliveries that lifted off length. Rahul survived, breathed and took guard again. That in itself was a job well done.
When Rabada ran for the next over, Rahul was ready. Another delivery that bounced extra, but this time, Rahul had his hands on line and above, pulling the ball into the ground. It bounced near the legs of Tony de Zorzi and went through to the ropes. Rahul was officially off the mark with a shot that was a sign of what was to come.
On a surface where the ball was moving not just sideways, but also rising and keeping low, Rahul did what he does best — take guard, watch, leave if you can, defend if you have to, rinse, repeat. Get something too full, lean forward a bit and gently caress it through covers for four. If it's on the body, fend it off if you can and take a single, pull it into the ground when possible and take the blow if you have to. When there is width on offer, guide it behind gully or free your arms and pull it in front of the square. Rahul did it all to perfection, with not much fuss.
Once Rabada sent back Virat Kohli and R Ashwin to close in on the 500th wicket, Rahul freed his arms, channelled his white-ball personality to play his shots — lofting Burger over cover for a six to get to his half-century. First with Shardul Thakur, then with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, he took India to 208/8 and remained unbeaten on 70 along the way before rain drew curtains on the day's play.
Nine years ago, coming back from his debut tour of Australia where he scored a hundred, Rahul piled on runs in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy. He smashed 838 runs in nine innings, including a triple hundred, and helped Karnataka lift the title, living up to the reputation he had built as a batting prodigy. However, his international career since then has not always been a smooth ride despite the backing he had (he averages 33.44 after 47 Tests).The last three years, though, have been different. The 31-year-old has shown he is ready to do what's needed and do it to the best of his capabilities.
And on Tuesday — where Rabada showed why he is one of the best in the business, taking a fifer and reaching the milestone (500) — Rahul has reminded everyone that he is capable of guiding the Test team through the transition over the next few years.
