Kagiso Rabada directs attention to toss: The South African fast bowler won the series award for the second time in his Test career.
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South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has hailed their medical staff for getting him match-ready for the recently concluded three-match Test series against England.
Rabada, 27, had suffered an ankle injury during the second England vs South Africa T20I in Bristol last month. Ruled out of the third T20I against England and a two-match T20I series against Ireland, Rabada recovered within less than a couple of weeks to take the field in the first Test at Lord’s.
“I injured myself in second T20I. I wasn’t sure if I could make it to the first Test. The medical staff were outstanding,” Rabada told Sky Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Playing his second Test series in England, Rabada bagged his second Player of the Series award sharing it with England captain Ben Stokes (10 wickets at an average of 15.70 and 149 runs at an average of 37.25). Joint-highest wicket-taker in the series, the right-arm bowler’s 14 wickets came at an average and strike rate of 23.35 and 31.7 respectively. Rabada was first of the three bowlers who picked a five-wicket haul in the series.
Kagiso Rabada directs attention to toss in ENG vs SA Test series
Despite winning the first Test, South Africa ended up losing the series 1-2 after back-to-back defeats at Old Trafford and The Oval. Having lost the toss in the second and third Tests, Rabada didn’t shy away from directing attention towards the toss factor in Test matches played in England.
“It seemed like every game was decided from the toss. We won the toss at Lord’s and things went our way,” Rabada said.
In spite of two defeats, South Africa continue to be the only visiting team to have a Win/Loss ratio of 1 (or more) in Test matches played in England since the start of this century. While a series scorecard might not reflect the same, there is no hiding to the fact that South Africa played better with a comparatively inexperienced squad.
“We are a relatively young side, a lot of learnings to take from this series. It’s exciting to see the talent in the fast bowling department. There’s a lot of talent in the squad. It’s about stringing together and playing as a team,” Rabada expressed contentment at their overall performance in the series.
