Kagiso Rabada uproots Joe Root’s off-stump with a stunning delivery

The third Test match between South Africa and England of the four-match series is being played at the St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. The first two Test matches ended up in both the teams winning one encounter each in dominating fashion. South Africa won the first match easily at Centurion, while England hit back with a tremendous victory in Cape Town.

This match at Port Elizabeth, therefore, became a must-win match for both teams if they want to go into the fourth and final match with their tails up. England captain Joe Root hit the first blow as he won the toss and chose to bat first on a decent looking wicket. This was a historic day for the Three Lions, as they became the first team to play 500 Tests. The visitors made one change to their bowling attack, bringing in Mark Wood, while the hosts also made a change, giving Dane Paterson a debut.

Kagiso Rabada rattles England batsmen

England batsmen started off well on day one with Zak Crawley making an impressive 44 and Dominic Sibley helping him add 70 runs for the first wicket and making 36 himself. Joe Denly looked technically proficient and patient for 100 balls but got out for just 25 runs, a very low return for the time dedicated in the middle.

However, the biggest blow to the visitors came when their skipper Joe Root received a top-notch delivery from Kagiso Rabada, who looked lethal throughout the day. Root, on the other hand, had hit four amazing boundaries in his short stay at the crease, making 27 runs in 46 balls, before Rabada rattled his off-stump with a typical ‘you miss and I hit’ instance.

In the 65^th over of England innings, Rabada let one go at the speed in excess of 141kph, which Root failed to read and the blistering ball managed to skid low eclipsing the bottom edge of his bat. Root heard the death rattle behind him and made the long walk back to the pavilion, leaving England 148/4.

Here is the video of Rabada’s brilliant dismissal of Root:

Abraca-Rabada!

Swing – 😎
Pace – 💪
Accuracy – 💯

What a magical delivery from KG🎇#ProteaFire #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/eqrvv2233u

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 16, 2020

England had ended day one on 244/4 with Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope at the crease and Rabada pocketing two wickets with the other one being that of Dom Sibley.