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WATCH: 'Try and be a little quicker please, KL': Umpire warns Rahul for late pullout against Rabada, batter says 'sorry'
On Day 1 of the 2nd Test in Johannesburg, KL Rahul received a warning from umpire Marais Erasmus, which was captured clearly by the stump microphone.
One of the perks of not having crowd at the venue during a cricket match is the stump microphone picking up even the smallest of conversations. In the first Test at Centurion, India captain Virat Kohli came up with a couple of gems during the course of the match, and on Day 1 of the 2nd Test in Johannesburg, it was KL Rahul, who received a warning from umpire Marais Erasmus which was captured clearly by the stump microphone.
During the fifth over of the Indian innings after Rahul won the toss and opted to bat, the stand-in skipper pulled out very late to a ball from Kagiso Rabada. Bowling the third ball, Rabada came steaming in but with Rahul pulling out, the South Africa pacer had to stop at the last moment. By the looks of it, Rahul was not ready to face as the batter kept tapping the bat looking at the ground. However, Rahul was quick to apologise but Erasmus felt a warning wouldn't do any harm.
Also Read | India vs South Africa Live Score, 2nd Test, Day 1
"Just try and be a little quicker please KL," the stump mic caught Erasmus as saying, to which Rahul quickly said "Sorry".
At the lunch interval on Day 1, India reached 53/3 with Rahul and Hanuma Vihari the two unbeaten batters. India’s opening pair of Rahul and Agarwal put on 36 runs before the latter edged Marco Jensen to Kyle Verreynne for 26. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s sorry form continued as the batters were dismissed off successive balls from Duanne Olivier. Pujara was out for 3 before Rahane fell for a golden duck.
Rahul is captaining India in Kohli's absence, who is missing the second Test of the series due to an upper back spasm. The opportunity means that Rahul is the first Indian captain since Mohammad Azharuddin in 1990 to lead the team in Test cricket before doing so in limited overs internationals.
