'Try and be a little quicker please' - Umpire warns KL Rahul for late pullout against Kagiso Rabada

KL Rahul has been in superb form of late, and has immensely improved himself in the longest format of the game. After scoring a match-winning century in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion, the second Test saw him become India’s captain. This was due to the fact that India’s regular Test skipper Virat Kohli’s back injury and thus, he couldn’t play this Test.

However, amidst a mini-collapse of India’s top order in the first session of day one, the opener was warned by the umpire, and was asked to be a ‘little quicker’. While the absence of crowds at the venue of a match might be demotivating for a few, the advantage of it is the fact that the stump microphone picks event the softest conversations. Thus, during the first hour of the second Test, the on-field umpire Marais Erasmus was heard giving a gentle warning to the stand-in skipper.

During the fifth over of the first innings, South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada came steaming in to bowl the third ball of the over, only for Rahul to pull out in the last moment. It seemed as if the batter wasn’t ready to face the delivery and thus, stopped the bowler at the very last moment. Although he was quick to apologise, the umpire asked him to be a bit quicker.

India lose three wickets in the first session

“Just try and be a little quicker please KL,” the stump mic caught umpire Erasmus saying. However, KL Rahul was instantly heard saying “Sorry”. Fortunately, the Proteas pacer didn’t show any signs of frustration and went back to bowl again.

Despite getting to a decent start, India lost three wickets in a quick session. While Mayank Agarwal looked positive during his short stay at the crease, before he edged one of Marco Jansen’s deliveries to the keeper. Cheteshwar Pujara’s horrific series continued as he was dismissed for 3. Post that, Ajinkya Rahane edged one to the slips to be dismissed for a golden duck. Both the wickets of Pujara and Rahane were taken by Duanne Olivier, who was breathing fire.