Highlights of India Vs South Africa 2023:- In its first Test match in Centurion, South Africa defeated India badly in just three days.
This means that the visiting team’s hopes of winning its first Test series at home in South Africa have been dashed.
After winning the toss, South Africa ordered India to bat first and created a lot of trouble for its guests.
With 245 runs on the board, India managed to post a competitive total thanks to KL Rahul’s incredible 101 runs.
However, uneven lines and lengths allowed South Africa to take advantage of the bowlers and weaken Rahul’s efforts.
With the help of Dean Elgar’s brilliant 185 runs, the Proteas have taken a strong lead of 162 runs.
India was so far behind in the game that it could not put up any batting performance. The visiting team lost by an innings and forty-five runs, with Virat Kohli being the lone warrior at one end.
Having said that, let’s take a look at three game-related incidents that fans found notable on social media:
KL Rahul moment of salvation
KL Rahul was recently dropped from the Indian Test team and returned only as a wicketkeeper against South Africa.
But in the first innings, he proved to be their best batsman, performing remarkably in difficult conditions.
Rahul, who had the perfect balance between prudence and aggression, ensured that India posted a respectable score in the first innings.
He completed his eighth Test century and second at Centurion by batting brilliantly with the tail and hitting a six off Gerald Coetzee.
His expression of relief showed how hard he had to work to get back into the Test team.
Virat Kohli is hoping for luck by switching bails like Stuart Broad
The visitors were finding his alliance with Tony De Zorzi and Dean Elgar somewhat troublesome, so they were hoping that luck would favor them.
Before Jasprit Bumrah’s ball, Virat Kohli went to the stumps and took out the bails.
When England bowler Stuart Broad performed this during the Ashes earlier this year, it went viral and his team suffered huge losses in the form of wickets.
Remarkably, Bumrah immediately picked out De Zorzi and then Keegan Pietersen, demonstrating the benefits of Kohli’s approach.
The functioning of the superstition delighted fans and Stuart Broad even responded with a humorous comment.
Dean Elgar dashes the hopes of Indians
Two years ago, Dean Elgar’s innings of 96* in the Johannesburg Test had ensured South Africa’s victory and prevented India from winning the series on South African soil for the first time.
For the spectators, it was a reunion as Elgar once again performed at the highest level, this time with a mammoth score of 185 to put South Africa ahead in the Test match.
He was praised by many for the fluidity of his swing as he was usually a deep hitter who scored runs with remarkable skill.
Elgar played a brilliant inning just before announcing his retirement from international cricket after the dismissal of captain Temba Bavuma.
It seems possible that the southpaw could lead the South African team in his last Test in Cape Town.
Read Also: Fans react to Mohammad Rizwan’s controversial dismissal in the second Australia-Pakistan Test