from south africa Kagiso Rabada was in fantastic form as he tore apart the Indian batting line-up and took his 14th 5-wicket haul, including 3 big wickets from Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer. He has once again proven his worth, something Allan Donald considers legendary.
Rabada was coming off a decent outing in the ICC Cricket World Cup last year, taking 13 wickets in 9 matches, but had a bit of time off the field due to injury. But he returned with the red ball and ignored all the rumors that his injury prevented him from performing at his best.
His finger and wrist skills, enhanced by explosive action, make him one of the toughest to face like Dale Steyn, is what Allan Donald said. The 57-year-old explained his true strength, which is being able to keep the ball away from the batter, and stated that Kagiso Rabada is already a success.
“Skill is one thing, but he has an uncanny ability to run the ball. He has some incredible wickets with impressive balls in the first Test match. It was extraordinary to see him as he always is and I think his thirst for success drives his consistency. Anyone who is successful, no matter what sport he plays, is judged by his consistency,” he said in an interview with PTI.
Allan Donald compares Kagiso Rabada to Pat Cummins
Allan Donald went on to discuss Kagiso Rabada’s understanding of biomechanics and compared him to world champions in both ODIs and Tests Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Not only them, but Donald believes that Kagiso Rabada is none other than Ambrose, Walsh and Micheal Holding, among others.
One of the things that helps him achieve that is his hip and shoulder rotation and he tried to show what’s really inside the biometrics of Rabada’s action and stuff. Donald went to praise the pitcher for his ball delivery and his airtime during his action.
“All genuine rapids have great hip and shoulder rotation and if you look at it technically, they are in a fantastic position in the air. We always talk about the launch, how they get off the ground or the size they reach in the crease.”
“Look at other greats like Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Ian Bishop, Michael Holding, they all got off the court to give them time to pull the trigger and that’s what KG does beautifully. That suspension time (off the ground) we talked about.”
Donald highlighted the sound of his run, landing and follow through, one could feel how fast Kagiso Rabada can throw. Donald said that he is an absolute genius when it comes to technicalities and that he will soon be able to complete 300 wickets in Test cricket.
“Also, if you see that at the point of the back foot strike, the hips are slightly closed and they open very, very quickly. They don’t spend too much time walking backwards. KG is very fast.” Donald compared Rabada’s hip rotation to that of an excellent javelin thrower.
“If you listen to his feet, every ball is very fast. KG’s hip rotation is similar to a javelin thrower’s right side release across the impact area. He knows his rhythm and action very well, so from a technical point of view he is solid. He understands biomechanics as much as Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc,” Donald said.
Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada will return to action for South Africa for Dean Elgar’s farewell test against India at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.