KL Rahul’s fitness had been a major issue in the lead-up to the World Cup. Three months later, he seems to be in the form of his life with consistent performances in all formats of the game.

Having made a comeback with a century against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Colombo, Rahul hasn’t looked back. The decision to keep wickets, even in Test cricket, while batting in the middle order has been a significant step in his career.

It was baptism by fire when he came out to bat at 92/4 at Centurion on the opening day. His eighth Test century, seven of which have come on foreign soil, was perhaps his best considering the lively wicket and overcast conditions.

Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports that Rahul’s knock would go down as one of the finest considering the difficult surface, where the ball was behaving erratically.

“I have been watching cricket for over 50 years now, and I can undoubtedly say this century by Rahul has to be in the top-10 of India’s Test history because it’s a different pitch here,” Gavaskar said.

“A batter would not gain the confidence so easily that he has set, especially with
the ball doing anything at any time.”

Lauding the six which Rahul hit off Gerald Coetzee to get to his century, Gavaskar added: “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!”

The uneven bounce, the lateral movement and the match situation made no impact as he showed his versatility in adapting to all formats. He played and missed a few times in the early part of his innings but never misjudged any delivery. He showed responsibility in the manner he batted with the tailenders on the second day.

“He did what he does actually,” India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour said after the opening day’s play. “He is turning out to be the man for crises for us. Every time there are tough situations, most of the times he’s there. He’s the guy who handles those situations very well.”