"India gifting dream farewells in every cricketer's retirement"- Top 10 funny memes after Indian bowlers' flop show on Day 2 of 1st Test vs SA
South Africa ended Day 2 of the first Test against India with a slender advantage of 11 runs after reaching 256/5 at stumps.
Team India commenced the day with an overnight score of 208/8. KL Rahul continued his form and accumulated runs briskly in the company of Mohammed Siraj (5 in 22 balls). Rahul completed his well-deserved century in the 66th over and took the subcontinental team to 245 before Nandre Burger cleaned him up to wrap up the first innings.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled brilliantly with the new ball and piled pressure on South African openers. Siraj gave the first breakthrough to the visitors by dismissing Aiden Markram in the fourth over.
Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi then weathered the burst of Siraj and Bumrah successfully. The change bowlers, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna failed miserably and released all the pressure with wayward bowling. The batters cashed in and scored runs at a good clip against the duo.
Jasprit Bumrah then brought his side back into the contest with two quick wickets after lunch, sending back Tony de Zorzi (28) and Keegan Petersen (2). However, it only proved to be a momentary joy for the visiting side.
Dean Elgar and David Bedingham (56) put on a 131-run partnership for the fourth wicket and crushed India's hopes of taking a lead. Elgar looked in great touch and scored a counter-attacking century, while Bedingham hit a half-century on debut.
The Indian bowlers took two wickets at the fag end and reduced South Africa to 256/5 before bad light forced the umpires to take the players off the field. Dean Elgar (140*) and Marco Jansen (3*) remained unbeaten for the hosts at the stumps.
Fans observed the action on Day 2 of the first Test between the two teams in Centurion. They expressed their emotions by sharing interesting memes on social media.
Here are some of the best memes:
"I can surely say this hundred by KL Rahul is in the top ten in the Indian history of Tests"- Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar reserved high praise for KL Rahul after his superlative century against South Africa in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test. While doing commentary on Star Sports, Gavaskar rated Rahul's century among the top 10 centuries of Indian Test cricket history, saying:
"I have been watching cricket since 50 years, I can surely say this hundred by KL Rahul is in the top ten in the Indian history of Tests, because this is a different kind of pitch. Here, a batter would never have the confidence that he is set. The ball can do anything anytime."
He continued:
"Playing such a knock despite that, especially today… he was unbeaten on 70 yesterday but only had Siraj and Prasidh Krishna for company today. When Siraj got out, (Rahul) was on 95. The shot with which he reached his hundred, no praise would be enough for it. It was a length ball and he played a shot that you would normally see in T20s. Amazing."
Do you agree with Sunil Gavaskar's views above? Let us know your views on the matter in the comments section below.