• KL Rahul smashed the seventh century of his Test career on Sunday.

  • Rahul also became the second Indian opener to hit a Test hundred in South Africa.

SA vs IND: Twitter erupts as KL Rahul hits a splendid century on Day 1 of Boxing Day Test
KL Rahul hits fabulous century in Boxing Day Test (Image Source: @BCCI)

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On Sunday, Indian opener KL Rahul etched his name in history books as he became only the second Indian batter after Wasim Jaffer to hit a century in South Africa. Rahul reached the milestone figure on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against Proteas at Supersport Park in Centurion.

On the second last ball of the 78th over of India’s first innings, Rahul smashed Keshav Maharaj for a boundary in the point region to complete his seventh ton in red-ball cricket.

Indian openers to hit Test Hundred in South Africa:

  • 2007 – Wasim Jaffer, Cape Town
  • 2021 – KL Rahul, Centurion

Further, Rahul also went past former Indian opener Virender Sehwag to smash more than four centuries outside Asia. The Karnataka stalwart is now only behind the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who had scored 15 tons outside Asia.

Most Test hundreds by an Indian opener outside Asia:

  • 15 – Sunil Gavaskar (81 innings)
  • 5 – KL Rahul (34 innings)
  • 4 – Virender Sehwag (59 innings)
  • 3 – Vinoo Mankad (19 innings)/ Ravi Shastri (19 innings)

Rahul is also the first Indian opener to hit centuries in Australia, England and South Africa – the third visiting opening batter overall.

Visiting openers with Test tons in Australia, England & South Africa:

  • Saeed Anwar – Pakistan
  • Chris Gayle – West Indies
  • KL Rahul – India

Meanwhile, at the close of play, India were in a commanding position with 272 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets. Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 122 and 40, respectively.

For South Africa, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi was the only wicket-taker with all three scalps in his pocket.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

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AKSHAT GAUR
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