The first day of the Centurion Test saw some amazing cricket with the ball dominating the proceedings. KL Rahul waged a lone battle as he took India past the 200-run mark on what looks like a bowler pitch.
Shardul Thakur faced some hostile bowling during his stay at the wicket. Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee were bowling vicious short balls to the Indian all-rounder. One such delivery hit Shardul Thakur right on his forehead as a swell began to form.
Earlier Temba Bavuma handed debut caps to Nandre Burger and David Bedingham and chose to bowl first. The South African skipper though injured himself in the field while chasing a ball to the boundary. Dean Elgar who is set to retire from Test Cricket at the end of the series was seen leading the side.
Gerald Coetzee’s bouncer hits Shardul Thakur
Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur was going great guns with the bat as he was fighting fire with fire. Just as the Indian batter seemed set to take India to a position of safety, the short balls started to rain in.
Watch the video below:
OMG that is so nasty, hope Thakur is ok ???#INDvsSA #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/Jsp4GuMmO1
— Hasnain Shah ? (@shahhasnain77) December 26, 2023
Young pacer, Gerald Coetzee bowled a rising delivery which Thakur tried to hook. The batter failed to connect with the ball and was hit right on his face. The team doctor came out to check as the mandatory procedures were carried out.
A few overs later, Kagiso Rabada got the ball to bounce awkwardly and Shardul this time tried to pull the ball. The Indian batter though was hit on his forearm prompting the Indian doctor to take a look at the damage caused.
The blow seemed to have had an effect as Thakur was out the very next ball. The 32-year-old chipped an easy catch to Dean Elgar to be dismissed for 24. South African pacer Kagiso Rabada made a triumphant return to cricket after his injury lay-off. The right-arm pacer took five wickets and also managed to pick up 500 wickets in International cricket.
Rain stopped play with India on 208/8 with KL Rahul batting on 70 runs from 105 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Virat Kohli scored 38 runs but Rabada accounted for the former India skipper with an outstanding ball. Nandre Burger made his debut memorable with the wickets of Indian youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
