Rohit Sharma, who is making his comeback to Test cricket silenced his critics after he had slammed his fourth Test century against South Africa in the first innings of the first Test match in Visakhapatnam. Rohit went on to score a brilliant 244-ball 176 and was also involved in a 317-run stand with Mayank Agarwal ( 215 off 371 deliveries) for the opening wicket as India declared their innings at 502/7. However, the 'Hitman' continued from where he had left off as India look to set a huge target for the Proteas in the second innings. 

READ: KKR rope in Kyle Mills as Bowling Coach, Hussey as Chief Mentor

Another day, another ton for Rohit

India had South Africa on the mat at 63/4 but fighting centuries from opener Dean Elgar (160) and Quinton de Kock (111) resurrected the Proteas innings and some decent contributions from lower down the order helped the visitors get to 431 as India only managed to get a 71-run lead. 

Opening the innings for the hosts, Mayank Agarwal failed to make an impact this time around as he was dismissed for a 31-ball 7. However, Rohit Sharma was not distracted by the early setback and started going after the South African bowlers. He also found support in Cheteshwar Pujara as Sharma brought up his fifth century in the game's longest format and also a second straight ton i.e. one in each innings of a Test match. The Mumbai batsman was involved in a 169-run stand with Pujara for the second wicket. The Hitman was eventually dismissed for a 149-ball 127 a knock which involved 10 boundaries and seven maximums. He was stumped by Quinton de Kock off  Keshav Maharaj. 

READ: Ind vs SA: Ravichandran Ashwin reveals why he stopped watching cricket

Virat Kohli appreciates Rohit Sharma 

After Rohit Sharma had made his way back to the dressing room during lunch on the second day of the ongoing Test match, he was patted on the back by his skipper Virat Kohli for his sparkling knock in the first innings. Rohit Sharma silenced his critics who were questioning his place in the side for the longest format of the game after a duck in the preparatory game. The star limited-overs format opener repaid skipper Virat Kohli's faith in him by playing a spectacular knock, putting India in the driver's seat. 

READ: R Ashwin's reply to why he doesn't see cricket on TV: 'I have kids'

READ: Hardik Pandya vows comeback in no time post-surgery, shares picture