Mumbai: KL Rahul produced a masterclass in batting, giving his fans a beautiful century on day three of the third Test match between India and England at the famous Lord’s venue. The elegant opener scored 100 runs off 177 balls, including 13 fours, which provided India with the backbone of its first innings and put a lot of pressure on the English bowlers. It was the second century in the continuing series by Rahul, who had recorded a century in the first Test, thus establishing his stature as a pivot in the Indian Test batting line-up.
The inning played by Rahul exuded panache and accuracy, and he was not in the least bit hesitant in hitting the ball all around the field. However, his free-flowing bowling came to an end in the 67.1 over when Shoaib Bashir of England dismissed him. Although he ended up not being the last one standing, his performance at Lord’s, the historic cricket stadium in London, has given Rahul credit among other spectators, as well as his peers in the cricket field. His second century in his last three innings at Lord’s remains a significant achievement of this century and also made him the first Indian opening batsman to score two Test hundreds at that venue.
Having achieved this performance, Rahul has become the second Indian cricketer to surpass others on English soil in terms of centuries scored in Test matches; cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also scored four centuries in Tests.