Boria Majumdar in Leeds
This has been a real exhibition from KL Rahul. An innings of serious class and discipline. There have been phases of the game where he was beaten multiple times. He was lucky to survive a peach from Chris Woakes. But at no point did he give up. He didn’t mind looking ugly at times. It was proper Test match batting.
He got a few blows into his body and yet stayed put. Rahul wasn’t ready to give up and that’s what India needed from their star batter.
Each time he was beaten you could see Rahul focus on the next ball as if nothing had happened. That’s KL Rahul in this series. He isn’t pushing himself that extra yard for perfection. He knows that on this wicket there will be balls that will have his number. All he can do is focus on the next ball and play it on merit.
The other highlight of Rahul’s innings was how he guided his partners. First, it was Sai Sudharsan on debut and then Rishabh Pant. Understandably, Sudharsan was nervous last night. He was on a pair. Rahul had gone off for a bio break when he walked in and once he was back he literally spent a minute speaking to Sai and then patted him on the back as he got ready to take strike. Each time Pant was trying something audacious you could see Rahul walk down the pitch and speak to his partner. At the end of overs, he would have another chat with the southpaw. The significance of the partnership was not lost on anyone, let alone KL. He knew, with Pant out there, England would also feel the pressure. And despite Pant being his vice-captain, Pant perfectly played the role of a senior pro.
India, may I say, are still not out of the woods. This England team is always dangerous at the pace with which they score runs. They will come hard if they sense an opportunity. Keeping that in mind, this KL innings, a hundred of pure class, is an absolute gem that could potentially be a match-winning one for India. Much like the South Africa hundred in December 2023, this is yet another innings of the highest pedigree, something that Rahul should cherish.