“Anyone who can score nine centuries abroad is a great player” - Former spinner hails KL Rahul’s performance on Day 2 of IND vs WI 2025 1st Test

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh lauded KL Rahul after his hundred on Day 2 (Friday, October 3) of the first Test against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Resuming on 53 overnight, Rahul played a composed innings to reach his 11th Test century and only his second at home, finishing with 100 off 197 balls, including 12 fours.

Following the day’s play, Harbhajan shared a video on his YouTube channel, praising Rahul for his century and expressing surprise at his Test average despite having scored nine centuries overseas. Harbhajan said:

“KL Rahul scored a century. Well done, he has played very well, absolutely solid. His average is 35, and he has hit one century at home before this match, and now this is his second century. These statistics are a bit surprising because the centuries scored outside are nine in number for him, and anyone who can score nine centuries abroad is such a great player. This is KL Rahul, we have all seen it. And I hope this is just the beginning, and more runs will come from here.”

The 45-year-old also praised wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who impressed in the absence of Rishabh Pant. The right-handed batter scored his maiden Test century, compiling 125 off 210 balls, including 15 fours and three sixes. Reacting to Jurel’s heroics, Harbhajan remarked:

“Because the wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is not available, he (Dhruv Jurel) is playing in his place. And he came and played such solid batting, no matter what the bowling was. But international matches are international matches, and he came and scored 125 runs. His defense was solid, and he played an amazing innings.”

Featuring in his sixth Test, Jurel has now scored 380 runs at an average of 47.50, including one fifty and one century.

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“This was shocking” - Harbhajan Singh reacts to undercooked WI Test team

In the same video, Harbhajan Singh called West Indies a very light team after their dismal first-innings performance, being bowled out for 162. He expressed surprise at the low batting averages of their players and said:

“West Indies is a very light team. A team that doesn’t have much experience. If we talk about the average of their batsmen, then the average of any batsman is not above 30. So, in an international team, this is the first time I have seen that any big team, which has Test cricket status, has batsmen whose average is not above 30. So, this was shocking news for me when I was covering the match.”

In reply to West Indies’ first-innings total of 162, India finished Day 2 at 448/5, leading by 286 runs, with Ravindra Jadeja (104) and Washington Sundar (9) at the crease.