IND vs ENG: KL Rahul slams 9th Test century in 1st Test vs England at Leeds
After missing out in the first innings on a pitch where his colleagues scored three centuries in the 1st innings, KL Rahul would not be denied in the second innings as he slammed his 9th Test ton in day 4 of the first match against England at Leeds on Monday.
Rahul took 202 deliveries to reach his 100 in an innings studded with 13 boundaries as he and vice captain Rishabh Pant helped India stay steady after losing captain Shubman Gill earlier in the day.
On Sunday, Rahul's batting in the tricky English conditions had earned rave reviews from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar who said that despite the Karnataka batter's immaculate potential, Rahul has yet to convert his talent to consistent performances in international cricket.
'Total team man. He has even been asked to keep wickets. He does that for the team, and that's what you want in the team. You see the way he reacts to the situation. He's got an equanimity about him, which is so rare because in today's day and age where everybody's got to be doing things to show that they have achieved something, his celebrations are also muted. One thing everybody agrees about KL Rahul is that he doesn't know how good a player he is. I mean, he would agree,' said Gavaskar.
On Monday, riding on Rahul and Pant's immaculate batting, India ambled to 153 for three at lunch on the fourth day.
Ahead by 96 runs in the beginning, India were off to a disastrous start as they lost skipper Shubman Gill seven balls into the day's play, but the English bowlers did not taste further success in the first session, though they kept testing the two batters with their probing line and length.
On a windy and cloudy morning at Headingley, India started off on the wrong foot losing the huge wicket of Gill, who chopped Brydon Carse's good length delivery on to the stumps.
Coming off an elegant hundred in the first innings, Gill was rooted to the crease as the ball cramped him for room before disturbing the stumps. As he walked back to the dressing room, a dejected Gill stared at the place where the ball landed, wondering if it pitched on one of those cracks.
England were delighted to see the back of the India captain, which paved the way for the arrival of another first-innings centurion, Pant, and he was his usual maverick self while attempting the audacious shots that define his batting.
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