Sachin Tendulkar joins KL Rahul admiration club after defiant ton in Centurion

KL Rahul has been receiving plaudits from the cricket fraternity after his defiant century on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test between India and South Africa. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who scored five centuries on South African soil, took to social media to lavish praise on the Karnataka batter.

Rahul came into bat on Day 1 at the Super Sport Park in Centurion, with India in a spot of bother at 92/4. This was after Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer stitched a crucial 68-run partnership. Rahul saw wickets falling at the other end as India slumped to 121/6. However, the 31-year-old didn't look perturbed. He battled it out in testing conditions and remained unbeaten on 70 on Day 1. On Day 2, he went on to score his seventh overseas Test century and eighth overall. The tourists were eventually bowled out for 245, a total that would have been much lower had the right-handed batter not played an excellent knock of 101 off 137 balls.

"Well played @klrahul. What impressed me was his clarity of thought. His footwork looked precise and assured, and that happens when a batter is thinking right. This century is crucial in the context of this Test. India would be happy with 245 considering where they were at one stage yesterday," Tendulkar wrote on his official 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) handle.

South Africa won't be too happy with their bowling performance: Sachin Tendulkar

The former India captain gave a shoutout to young South African bowlers Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger. The latter bagged the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rahul on debut. Coetzee, on the other hand, picked up a solitary wicket but bowled with a lot of steam. Tendulkar noted that the Proteas would not be too impressed with their bowling effort on conditions that were in their favour.

"Nandre Burger and @GeraldCoetzee62 look like a good addition to the South African bowling line-up. I feel South Africa won't be too happy with their bowling performance considering the conditions," Tendulkar said.