Twitter Reactions: Rohit and Rahane put India in command after early jitters

After the first hour of the third Test in Ranchi, South Africa had their tails up. On the other end, at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, India had their backs pushed to the walls. But Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane pulled the home team out of the pits and guided them to safer shores. At the close of play on the first day, India stand at 224 for the loss of three wickets in 58 overs.

Rabada and Nortje wreak havoc

The Proteas lost their third toss in the series and were again put in to field first. Unlike the first two games, the visitors’ pacers came out firing on all cylinders. Kagiso Rabada found the outside edge of Mayank Agarwal’s flashing blade and Dean Elgar backed him up with a catch at third slip. Then the speedster pinned Cheteshwar Pujara for a nine-ball duck to set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Virat Kohli started with a couple of fours, but couldn’t carry on. Anrich Nortje, who went wicketless in the Pune Test, trapped the Indian skipper to pick up his maiden Test wicket. Having been reduced to 39/3 in 15.3 overs, things weren’t looking pretty for the hosts. It was then the turn of Ajinkya Rahane and opener Rohit Sharma to inject momentum into the innings from a tricky situation.

Rohit and Rahane help India

Rohit grafted in the first part of his innings, bringing up his half-century off 86 balls. Once he reached his fifty, the Mumbai batter stepped on the gas. The 32-year-old was severe on off-spinner Dane Piedt and even reached his ton, his third in the series. Rohit deposited the off-spinner over long off to accomplish the milestone. From 50 to 100, Rohit took only 44 balls and got the ton off 130 balls.

Rohit stayed unbeaten on 117 with 14 fours and four sixes. On the other hand, Rahane didn’t go into the shell either. He lent support to Rohit and remained not out on 83 runs off 135 deliveries with the help of 11 fours and one six. At around 3 PM in the afternoon, it went dark and play was halted due to bad light. Around 45 minutes later at 3:45, play was officially called off for the day.

Here is how Twitter reacted on the day’s play