All the key stats and numbers from the opening day’s play in Centurion

Sampath Bandarupalli26-Dec-2021122* KL Rahul’s score at stumps on day one, the highest individual score by an Indian opener in Test cricket in South Africa. The only other Test century by an Indian opener in South Africa – 116 by Wasim Jaffer in Cape Town in 2007.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Test centuries for Rahul outside Asia, the second-most number of hundreds for an Indian opener outside Asia in this format. Only Sunil Gavaskar is ahead of Rahul, who scored 15 centuries. Rahul has scored five of the six Test centuries by Indian openers outside Asia since his debut in 2014-15.3 Visiting openers to score a Test century at Centurion’s SuperSport Park, including Rahul on Sunday. Chris Gayle’s 107 in 2004 and David Warner’s 115 in 2014 are the other Test hundreds by visiting openers here.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 Number of visiting openers to score a century in the first innings of a Test in South Africa since 2010, including Rahul in Centurion. David Warner scored 135 at the Newlands in Cape Town during the 2014 tour.117 Partnership runs between Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. It is the third-highest opening stand for India in Tests in South Africa. They also became the second visiting pair to score a 100-plus run opening partnership in Centurion. The first such pair was also from India – 137 by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in 2010.ESPNcricinfo Ltd242 Balls faced by Rahul and Mayank for the first wicket is the longest opening partnership by a visiting pair in Tests since 2010. The last visiting pair with a longer stand – 263 balls by Phillip Hughes and Simon Katich for Australia in Durban in 2009.0 Previous instances of India beginning a Test series outside Asia with a century opening stand. The 62 by Dattaram Hindlekar and Vijay Merchant at the Lord’s in 1936 was the highest opening stand for India in the 24 previous occasions where they batted first in a series opener outside Asia. Only one visiting pair before Mayank and Rahul added 100-plus runs for the opening wicket in South Africa while batting first in a Test series opener – 120 by Bob Barber and Geoff Boycott in Durban in 1964 (excluding one-off Tests).259 Test wickets between South Africa’s pace attack in this match – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder. It is the least experienced pace attack that South Africa fielded in a home Test against India in terms of Test wickets since the Johannesburg Test in 1997. South Africa’s pacers in that game – Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener collectively picked 247 wickets.