India defeated South Africa to end their two-match Test series in a 1-1 tie, in Cape Town on Thursday. Speaking after the series, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that KL Rahul, who had a decent outing, could face stiff competition from Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant.
Rahul was in good form, and carried the Indian innings in the second innings of the match. Speaking after the second Test, Manjrekar hailed Rahul and felt that the wicketkeeper-batter was fighting for every chance across all formats.
But the former India cricketer feels that Rahul and Shreyas Iyer could fight for the No. 5 spot with Rishabh Pant, who will be making his comeback in IPL 2024.
Appearing on Star Sports, he said, “I think he’s a guy who cares about every format. You know how he’s built to value every opportunity that he gets after he got that 100. You know, I am looking two years from now and I thought he’s really competing with Shreyas Iyer for a batting position in the middle order because the moment Rishabh Pant is fit, he becomes your keeper batter, and there’s great quality to Rishabh Pant batting and keeping as well.”
“That innings was just incredible (First Test hundred). Unfortunately, you know, Dean Elgar got a 180, they got 400 because we at the time thought that 260 was gonna be enough. And that was the moment if India could have latched onto, there would have been a series win in South Africa,” he added.
The win helped India reclaim top spot in the World Test Championship 2023-25 points table. It was also India’s second win in the ongoing WTC cycle, overtaking South Africa, who are second. The defeat in the first Test sent India to sixth spot, but the win on Thursday drove them to pole position once.
Meanwhile, the Proteas are in second place, followed by New Zealand (third) and Australia (fourth). Bangladesh are fifth in the standings, followed by Pakistan (sixth), West Indies (seventh), England (eighth) and Sri Lanka (ninth).
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
