KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer could be fighting for a single spot in the Indian Test team once Rishabh Pant returns to the side, feels former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. KL Rahul had a decent outing in the Test series vs South Africa with the bat. Rahul scored a sensational counter-attacking century which was dubbed by Sunil Gavaskar as one of the best innings that he had ever seen in Test cricket.
India vs South Africa, 2nd Test: Highlights
In difficult conditions in Cape Town, Rahul carried the Indian innings single-handedly in the second innings of the match. Speaking after the conclusion of the Test series, former India cricketer lauded Rahul and said that he was valuing every chance that he is getting across all formats of the game.
Manjrekar however said that it could be between him and Shreyas Iyer to fight for the No. 5 spot once Rishabh Pant returns to the Indian team.
“I think he’s a guy who cares about every format. You know how he’s built to value every opportunity that he gets after he got that 100. You know, I am looking two years from now and I thought he’s really competing with Shreyas Iyer for a batting position in the middle order because the moment Rishabh Pant is fit, he becomes your keeper batter, and there’s great quality to Rishabh Pant batting and keeping as well,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports after the match.
SA vs IND, 2nd Test: Scorecard
“That innings was just incredible (First Test hundred). Unfortunately, you know, Dean Elgar got a 180, they got 400 because we at the time thought that 260 was gonna be enough. And that was the moment if India could have latched onto, there would have been a series win in South Africa,” he further added.
Rahul was not able to repeat his heroics in the second Test match of the series, majorly due to the treacherous nature of the pitch in Cape Town. The second Test match turned out to be the shortest in the history of Test cricket that was able to bring out a result. Just 107 overs were bowled as the game wrapped up in just one and a half days.
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