In the Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion on December 26, South Africa’s starring fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, shone brightly. He turned Day 1 of cricket showdown versus India into a show of his own skills.
The first Test series game started with South Africa winning the toss. They chose to be the fielding team. Kagiso Rabada’s exceptional bowling helped South Africa get an advantage. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shardul Thakur were all dismissed by Rabada, securing his 14th set of five wickets in this style of match.
The crowd clearly admired Kagiso Rabada’s topnotch bowling. One satisfied fan voiced his thoughts thus:
“There’s no stopping this man. KG Rabada gets his 14th five-wicket haul.”
These are a some of the most popular responses on social media:
Joining a prestigious group, Kagiso Rabada has now taken 500 international cricket wickets. This achievement ranks him with South African greats: Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, and Shaun Pollock.
The 28-year-old picked up five wickets on the opening day against India. It was his first time doing this, taking just 44 runs from 17 overs. A noteworthy feat indeed!
Kagiso Rabada demolishes India’s batting, Rahul the only bright spot in 1st Test
After their top order batsmen, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill, returned to the hut early in the day, the visitors found themselves in a vulnerable situation.
With a vital 68-run stand for the fourth wicket, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer helped to partially steady the ship. But Rabada took out both of the set hitters, putting India on the defensive once more.
KL Rahul, a keeper-batter, battled valiantly to provide India hope. He scored an incredible fifty runs while under duress, finishing undefeated at seventy at stumps. Lower down the order, Shardul Thakur also contributed with a significant 24-run cameo.
With five wickets to his name, Kagiso Rabada was the most effective bowler; rookie Nandre Burger took two wickets, and Marco Jansen concluded with one wicket. Day 1 ended with India at 208/8 at stumps.