KL Rahul often seems a victim of his mental demons but the Centurion hundred showed what a clear mind can do for the wicketkeeper, writes Sarah Waris.

It’s tough to sum up KL Rahul’s Test career. There have been moments of brilliance in the toughest conditions, but there have also been ordinary phases. He has been kept out after a slew of poor scores, but has also played exceptional knocks that can make it to the all-time list. He averages 34.56 in the format, but also has five hundreds in SENA – level with Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Cheteshwar Pujara, despite playing half the matches they had. He’s also a player who has been unable to fulfil his promise, but one with vast untapped potential impatiently waiting to implode.

Rahul acknowledges his contrasting career, but is not hesitant to take up new opportunities despite the failure of risk they present. In the Centurion Test match, he debuted as a designated middle-order wicketkeeper, making him the greatest multitasker of India’s current Test side – something his namesake, also India’s current head coach, excelled in previously. Despite his changing roles, however, there is also a sense of serenity and assurance whenever Rahul walks out to bat.

It was on display on Boxing Day as he fronted up to face a fiery Kagiso Rabada and an equally ferocious Nandre Burger. Rabada, in line to be one of the all-time greats, had nipped out Shreyas Iyer and dismissed Virat Kohli with a peach of a delivery 11 balls later. On a tricky surface with extreme seam movement and variable bounce that saw a ball jump up and hit Shardul Thakur on the forehead, Rahul displayed his technique and temperament, switching from a back-foot defence to a front-foot six-hitting beast with ease.

If anything, his innings was a reflection of how his career has gone. There were moments of unease: Rahul tried to hook the third ball he faced off Rabada but narrowly missed; there was a short ball from Burger that ricocheted to his helmet; another one rose and surprised him, but he did well to keep it down; and he survived an lbw call off Marco Jansen due to a faint inside edge. But there were also periods of maturity that forced the bowlers into submission.

When Rabada bowled fuller, Rahul went back and punched them back. When he aimed for the hard length, he offered no shot. He wristily pulled a short ball for his first boundary, showing more control on the hit than Rohit Sharma, who had fallen to a similar ball. He opened the face of the bat, was unafraid to play a white-ball shot over cover off a fuller delivery, and navigated the testing lines and lengths with firm but gentle pushes. He played and missed a few times, but at no point did it seem like he did not belong.

Rahuls’ biggest challenge was when India slipped to 164-7 with only the three fast bowlers – all of them rank tail-enders – left. He had two options: to tire out the bowlers by batting patiently, or bat aggressively and get as many runs as possible on the board. With Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna having a combined first-class batting average of 12.78, Rahul realised the former approach would yield little results and switched gears.

India made 81 runs for the last three wickets, in which Rahul contributed 72. He struck at 90 during this period, hitting 10 of his 14 fours and three of four sixes. He also encouraged his partners to take cheeky singles – off the bat or otherwise – and was not afraid to be bold while converting any lapse by the visitors into an advantage. In the end, only a lapse in concentration could send him back: his innings of 101 lasted three hours and 18 minutes, and 137 balls.

It was the third-fastest century scored by an Indian batter in South Africa and the quickest since 2001. Rishabh Pant and Kapil Dev are the only two other players to score hundreds at a strike rate above 70 in the country, which indicates how much at ease he was throughout his knock in a land that has always challenged the team. The fact that it came on a wicket that was not easy to bat on further highlights his class.

It is not something that has not been seen before. Rahul immediately announced his arrival in the Test circuit with a knock of 110 against Australia in his second Test at the SCG. Until 2017, Rahul averaged 44.62 in the format, but he did not cross 40 in his 14 innings in SENA.

On the England tour in 2018, he made 150 in nine innings at 16.67 before his 149 brought an ounce of respectability in The Oval. He did not make another fifty in his next 12 innings and did not feature on the tour of Australia. Picked as a reserve keeper and opener for the 2021 series in England, Rahul got his chance after Pant missed a practice match due to COVID-19, and swiftly scored a ton to rise up the pecking order. On the eve of the first Test, when first-choice opener Mayank Agarwal was ruled out for concussion, Rahul was the direct replacement.

Rahul made you wonder why he was not the top contender to play the series with a performance that was touted to be career-changing. Yet, the familiar inconsistency halted his progress once again as he was dropped midway through the home Test series against Australia this year and was also stripped of vice-captaincy.

He was making a comeback at Centurion but he seemed like he had never left. His biggest challenge, however, will be to conquer the demons of his mind, which has often led to his downfall, a fact he has admitted to. For someone who played with such calmness on Tuesday, Rahul has fallen victim to a cluttered mind far too often, changing his game according to what is expected of him instead of what feels natural to him, and it was pleasing to see him shed some of that against South Africa and bat the way he did with an inexperienced tail on a tough wicket against a competitive bowling attack.

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