India Missed a big opportunity on the opening day of the second test against South Africa At the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, such as KL Rahul A simple chance was thrown into the slips – a mistake that left social media abuzz with criticism.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, South Africa made a steady start but then a dramatic moment unfolded. Jasprit BumrahThe magic of the new ball. What could have been a decisive early attack turned into a momentum-changing relief for the visitors.
KL Rahul’s slip mistake gives life to Aiden Markram
The incident occurred during Bumrah’s bowling in the seventh over of the morning session. Bowling at pace and shaping the ball away from the right-handed batsman, Bumrah pulled off a thick edge aiden markramWho were barely at the crease.
The ball went down and quickly towards second slip, where Rahul moved forward, but failed to understand what looked like a routine take. Bumrah immediately crouched down, covering his face in disbelief, while Markram – on just 4 at the time – survived the moment that should have ended his stay.
😬 India’s fielding coach did not look happy with KL Rahul taking down Markram!
Could this decline come back to hurt India later?#Cricket #KLRahul #INDvSA #Guwahati #Examination pic.twitter.com/4lt1p28YRz
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 22 November 2025
Instead of early success, India found themselves under pressure as South Africa settled down and took advantage of the slip-up.
Rahul faced criticism for removing the seater
Within minutes of the fall, fans took to social media to express their disappointment. Many argued that such mistakes have become too many, while others questioned Rahul’s credibility in the slip cordon. Reactions to the blossoming of the initial partnership ranged from disappointment to sharp trolling.
Here’s how fans reacted:
KL Rahul- The safest hands of Team India.
In fact?????#INDvsSA #SAvsIND #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/zyFxEDDWB7– Imran Khan (@Mdimran67489918) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul, why do you exist, man?
– Indian Kissinger (@kissingerspeaks) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul dismissed Markram. pic.twitter.com/OQDqsG1yQO
-Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintivari952) 22 November 2025
#KLRAHUL #Guwahati #Catch KL Rahul is at his best leaving a sitter and making things difficult for India..in the last innings he scored 0 or what…is he troubling rival Rishabh Pant pic.twitter.com/saRiVaPzTj
– Spacerider 2025 (@spacerider2025) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul you are lucky, can’t bat in important matches, play well only in bits, fail in every big game and throw out these sitters, your lobby or whoever the goddamn person is. #INDvsSA
-Saurabh (@Mbatious11) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul dismissed Aiden Markram
He came to her fast but she should have been taken
Bumrah disappointed#INDvsSA
– Cricketpedia (@CricketPediaHQ) 22 November 2025
Makaram was dismissed by KL Rahul for 4 runs.
Notably, India holds the record for most catches dropped with 41 after Bangladesh in 2025. Pathetic catching. #IndianCricket #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/slocooLx7Q– Dev🇮🇳 (@DevBilla2) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul, when no one is doing anything wrong.#IndvsSa pic.twitter.com/hxbkoQb2kC
– Murari Tyamjan🧢 (@Murari_Tyamjan) 22 November 2025
Bumrah and Siraj did all the hard work and KL Rahul wasted it. Bumrah looked quite disappointed.pic.twitter.com/9ncxNMQeTE https://t.co/46PceO5Qmj
– Harshit 🕷 (@I_am_Harshit_17) 22 November 2025
KL Rahul dropped sitter catch 😢 pic.twitter.com/CdhVc0V52Y
– RP17 Fanᵀᵉˡᵘᵍᵘ 🇮🇳 (@TeluguRP17Fan) 22 November 2025
What’s the matter, it’s November and KL Rahul doesn’t play with the opposite team, it’s not possible 🤧 #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/cYuwBUDKlK
– Monster Man (@manmonster128) 22 November 2025
– Typical subcontinent spin pitch
– Captain Gill ran away after 1-0
– Gambhir has 0 accountability
– No support from the other end
– consistently cast good spells
– KL Rahul dropped an easy catchNow haters will see Cricbuzz’s scorecard and start trolling them without any reason. pic.twitter.com/I9YrglTBC7
– 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿 (@ImYorker93) 22 November 2025
South Africa scored 50 runs without losing any wicket and made the first session boring, thanks to KL Rahul.
When Markram was playing on 4 runs, his wicket could have changed the course of the session in favor of India.#INDvsSA
– Aakash Raj (@Aakashraj2208) 22 November 2025
Also read: India vs South Africa 2025: Barsapara Stadium pitch report, Guwahati weather forecast for 2nd Test
Bumrah eventually finds Markram, but opening partnership hurts India
Although Bumrah later dismissed Markram for 38 runs, the damage was already done. By the time the Proteas openers fell one wicket behind, they had helped build an opening partnership of 82 – which provided South Africa with an excellent platform and allowed them to control the pace of the match.
Apart from late successes, India struggled to trouble the visiting openers in the first session. Nitish ReddyNotably, suffered a mixed start, repeatedly straying on the pads and conceding boundaries which sapped the pressure.
Also read: DC’s most expensive players in every IPL auction: From KL Rahul to Yuvraj Singh
