The decision to promote Rohit up the order was seen as a gamble, but it paid off brilliantly as the 'Hitman' announced his arrival as a Test opener with a stunning knock of 176 runs. Rohit continued his brilliant form in the second innings, scoring 127 runs, which included seven fours and seven sixes, making him the first batter to score twin centuries in his debut Test as an opener. Rohit, who had been a middle-order batsman for most of his Test career, played a composed and controlled innings. Despite a slow start due to testing conditions, he soon found his rhythm and began to unleash his trademark strokes. He started cautiously, building his innings alongside fellow opener Mayank Agarwal. As he settled in, Rohit's elegant strokeplay and aggressive intent came to the fore, smashing 23 boundaries and six towering sixes. Mayank Agarwal-Rohit Sharma's partnership His partnership with Mayank Agarwal was crucial, as the duo put up a record 317-run stand, making it the highest opening partnership for India against South Africa in Tests. Mayank Agarwal also scored 215 runs as this partnership provided India with the perfect platform to post a formidable total of 502/7 declared in their first innings. In reply, South Africa struggled against India's spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, getting bowled out for 431. Centuries from Dean Elgar (160) and Quinton de Kock (111) were the only bright spot in South Africa's innings alongside Faf du Plessis' 55. Rohit's performance not only helped India secure a convincing 203-run victory but also established him as a key opener for India in the Test format. His dominance against both pace and spin bowlers proved that he could adapt his style to suit Test cricket, a format where he had previously struggled to find his place. Rohit's re-birth in Test cricket how Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri played pivotal roles in reviving his red-ball career. Rohit made his Test debut in 2013 but struggled to cement his spot in the team. He played only 27 Tests till 2018, scoring 1585 runs with three hundreds and 10 fifties, and wasn't a regular in the squad. Since taking up the opener's role in Tests, Rohit has amassed 2594 runs in 34 Tests, including nine centuries and seven fifties.