Kagiso Rabada, the peerless Protea, set to notch up his 50th Test

The third Test match starting on Tuesday, January 11, at the scenic Newlands cricket stadium in Cape Town is significant for many reasons. 

If India win the match, the series will be 2-1 in their favour. This will mark their first Test series victory in South Africa, a year after they won their first-ever Test series in England, as well as back-to-back series wins in Australia in the past five years. 

If South Africa win the Test match, it would turn around a series of torrid recent results. Victory against the world’s top-ranked Test team could turn over a much-needed new leaf in South African cricket and possibly spark a resurgence among a squad that has seen many players from their “golden generation” retire. 

If South Africa bowl first, as they have in the two previous Test matches, the man who will be steaming in to launch the first delivery of the match will be Kagiso Rabada. He will be playing his 5oth Test match for his country, a personal milestone, with the backdrop of a crucial series in the balance. 

“I think it’s quite special. I didn’t even know how many games I was on. I only found out later that this would be my 50th. It kind of goes by without you really noticing it,” said Rabada. 

“I’ve always wanted to represent my country and this is definitely a personal milestone and one I’ll hold close to my heart.” 

At the beginning

Rabada has somewhat of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde character. The bowler, who stands 1.92m tall, is ferocious for batters to face, with his ability to crank his bowling up to 150km/h and generate serious bounce. Rabada’s celebrations after taking a wicket include screaming, jubilation and pumped fists, which has got him into trouble with the International Cricket Council (ICC) more than once. 

But he always has a bright smile or laugh on his face when socialising with teammates and friends. 

“At the end of the day, you have to remind yourself to keep enjoying it and remember yourself as this child or this teenager that just wanted to represent their country and show the world what you’re about,” said Rabada. 

Born fast

It is said you are either born with the ability to bowl fast or you are not.

Rabada spearheaded South Africa’s Under-19 World Cup win in 2014. The team was captained by current Proteas teammate Aiden Markram. 

Later the same year, aged 18, Rabada made his debut for the Proteas men’s team in a T20I match against Australia, recording figures of 0-27 in his three overs. 

A year later, in 2015, Rabada’s talent was evident on the international cricket arena when he marked his One Day International debut with incredible figures of 6-16 on debut against Bangladesh, taking a hat-trick in the match too. 

Rabada’s appetite and stomach for international cricket were clear as he was selected in the Test match squad to tour India later that year. And it’s in the Test match arena that the tall, right-arm fast bowler has truly made his mark. 

“It tests you in every sort of way, it tests you in a skills perspective and it tests your longevity. It’s kind of like life in that it ebbs and flows and it always finds a way to challenge you. You as a team and you as an individual,” said Rabada about why he thinks Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. 

Rabada made his long-form debut on 5 November 2015 against India in Mohali, where the conditions were inhospitable for fast bowling. He returned unremarkable match figures of 1-49 in 22 overs, in a match that the Proteas lost by 108 runs. Rabada was the apprentice, the third fast bowler in a trio consisting of legendary South African quicks Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander. 

“It’s been an honour and a privilege to play alongside some of those big names. I was watching them in high school and primary school, representing their country, and I had a burning desire to one day play at this level and to play with them. Some of my heroes… it’s something that’s really extraordinary and I still pinch myself to this day,” said Rabada. 

The bowler, currently ranked sixth in the world by the ICC, quickly demonstrated his vast potential in Test cricket after his slow start. In early 2016, in only his sixth Test match, Rabada took his first 10-wicket haul when he recorded figures of 13-144 against England at Centurion. This remains South Africa’s second-best ever match bowling figures, after Makhaya Ntini’s 13-132 against the West Indies in Port of Spain. 

The Johannesburg-born Rabada has gone from strength to strength. In July 2018 he became the youngest bowler to take 150 wickets in Tests at the age of 23 years and 50 days. Rabada finished 2018 as the number one ranked Test bowler in the world. 

However, things have not always come easy on the cricket field for him. “The rewards are much sweeter because you invest more of your energy for a longer period of time in variable conditions which constantly change. Sometimes you’re on the backfoot. It’s very seldom that you have a flawless Test match – there’s always some challenge that will come your way,” said Rabada. 

Morné Morkel retired from international cricket in 2018 and Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander retired from Test cricket in 2019. This left a gaping hole for a senior spearhead bowler in the Proteas’ ranks. And Rabada has taken the gap with aplomb. 

Seven years on from his debut match in Mohali, 26-year-old Rabada, now the leader of the South African bowling attack, is preparing to play his 50th Test match for his country. 

Kagiso Rabada of South Africa during the South African national cricket team training session at Six Gun Grill Newlands on 9 January 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)