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Watch: On Irfan Pathan's Apology, Sunil Gavaskar's Cheeky "Will Not Accept" Remark

India's hopes of winning a Test series in South Africa ended inside three days as the Rohit Sharma-led side was comprehensively beaten in the first Test of a two-match series in Centurion on Thursday. While South Africa made 408 batting second, India were bowled out for 245 and 131 in their first and second innings, respectively, losing the match by an innings and 32 runs. While analysing KL Rahul's century in the first innings, former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan were involved in a light-hearted conversation.

"Intra-Squad Is A Joke": Sunil Gavaskar Rips Into Rohit Sharma-Led Indian Cricket Team

Team India's humiliating 3-day loss in the first Test against South Africa sent shockwaves across the cricketing spectrum. Multiple greats of the game and pundits questioned the team's preapredness for the tour, with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar highlighting the absence of practice matches as one of the biggest reasons behind the result embarrasing result. Gavaskar even called India's intra-squad matches a 'joke' as he lambasted Rohit Sharma and the team management's decision to not play First Class practice matches before the start of the 2-match series.

KL Rahul's Reaction To Sunil Gavaskar's 'Top 10 Hundred' Compliment Is Pure Gold

KL Rahul impressed everyone by scoring a gritty century on Day 2 of the first Test match between India and South Africa in Centurion. With wickets falling on the other end, Rahul paced his innings to perfection and ended up taking India to a competitive total in the first innings. Legendary India skipper Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for Rahul and even called the century among "Top 10 in the Indian history of Tests. “Watching cricket for 50 years, I can surely Say this hundred by Rahul is in the Top 10 in the Indian history of Tests,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

"Has To Keep Getting Runs": Shubman Gill Issued Big Warning Over Dwindling Test Form

Batting in South Africa is never easy but a player like Shubman Gill, touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket, is expected to deliver. As India took on South Africa on Day 1 of the first Test in Centurion, Gill's bat went silent once again, scoring just 2 runs off 12 balls. With the dismissal, Gill's Test average dropped to a poor 31.23, prompting former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar to remind him of the competition that exists in the Indian team.

"Tactically Big Mistake...": Ravi Shastri Underlines Fault In Rohit Sharma-led India's Strategy vs South Africa

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team endured a tough second day in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Wednesday. When bad light forced early stumps, South Africa had already taken a 11-run lead with five wickets remaining courtesy Den Elgar's classy unbeaten 140. Before that KL Rahul's 101 had taken India to 245, which many experts felt was a decent enough total. The start of India's bowling was not bad either as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Aiden Markram cheaply.

"In Top 10 In India's Test History...": KL Rahul's Ton Gets Special Place In Sunil Gavaskar's "Over 50 Years" Of Watching Cricket

KL Rahul's brave century during the ongoing opening Test against South Africa here on Wednesday drew high acclaim from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who has rated the knock "in the top ten in the history" of India's red-ball cricket. Rahul, who walked into the middle while the Indians were four down for 92 on Day 1 on Tuesday, made a gutsy 101 off 137 balls before being knocked over by debutant pacer Nandre Burger, as the visitors were all out for 245.

"Keeper Clueless, Bowler Livid": How Comedy Of Errors Helped KL Rahul Score A Brilliant Ton vs South Africa

KL Rahul played one pf the most memorable innings by an Indian batter in South Africa on Wednesday as the side put up a decent 245 in the first innings of the first Test in Centurion. The batter almost waged a lone battle scoring 101, while the next best individual score was 38 by Virat Kohli. Battling lean patch in Tests for a while, KL made a comeback playing on a tough Centurion surface, coming to the crease at 92/4, the middle-order batter batted for most of his knock with lower middle-order/lower-order batters to register a memorable comeback ton.

On India's Troubles In 1st Test Against South Africa, Sunil Gavaskar Namedrops Out-Of-Favour Star

Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar believes that the presence of veteran star Ajinkya Rahane could have boosted India's top order in the first Test match against South Africa in Centurion on Tuesday. India struggled to get going after the rain-delayed start on Day 1 and none of the top-order batters were able to capitalise on their starts with Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal all losing their wickets early. Rahane has fallen out of favour with the team management and was not included for the South Africa series after less than satisfactory performances in the past. However, Gavaskar said that his overseas record would have proven crucial in the South African conditions.

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Watch: On Irfan Pathan's Apology, Sunil Gavaskar's Cheeky "Will Not Accept" Remark

"Intra-Squad Is A Joke": Sunil Gavaskar Rips Into Rohit Sharma-Led Indian Cricket Team

KL Rahul's Reaction To Sunil Gavaskar's 'Top 10 Hundred' Compliment Is Pure Gold

"Has To Keep Getting Runs": Shubman Gill Issued Big Warning Over Dwindling Test Form

"Tactically Big Mistake...": Ravi Shastri Underlines Fault In Rohit Sharma-led India's Strategy vs South Africa

"In Top 10 In India's Test History...": KL Rahul's Ton Gets Special Place In Sunil Gavaskar's "Over 50 Years" Of Watching Cricket

"Keeper Clueless, Bowler Livid": How Comedy Of Errors Helped KL Rahul Score A Brilliant Ton vs South Africa

On India's Troubles In 1st Test Against South Africa, Sunil Gavaskar Namedrops Out-Of-Favour Star