Trisha Ghosal in London
KL Rahul’s bat finally went up after lunch, but the applause began much earlier. At the stroke of lunch the moment England broke through with a stunning run-out, Stokes’ bullet throw catching Rishabh Pant short as he tried to get Rahul back on strike, the crowd at Lord’s rose. The crowd rose again soon after lunch, but this time for a batter who had carried the weight of an innings with monk-like focus.
Rahul went to lunch on 98 not out, stranded for the final few deliveries before the break, thanks to Pant’s selfless (and ultimately costly) attempt to give him the strike. It was a moment of heartbreak and heroism all at once. But Rahul, unfazed, returned after the break and nudged his way to a century that will go down as one of his most mature knocks in India whites.
His innings, built on subtlety and steel, was a masterclass in absorbing pressure. Jofra Archer tested him with the short ball, Brydon Carse tightened the angles, and Chris Woakes kept asking questions. Yet Rahul answered with silence, with leaves, with straight-batted serenity, and with the kind of awareness that only comes with experience.
This is Rahul’s second century at Lord’s, the first having come in 2021, a knock that had helped India to a famous win. Today, the stakes were no less. England had piled up a formidable total of 387, and India needed a pivot. Rahul became that pivot, not only shepherding the innings through tough spells, but also ensuring that the middle-order wasn’t exposed to the new ball.
His stand with Pant had been the cornerstone of India’s resistance, pulling them back from a precarious morning position. But with Pant gone, the burden has shifted again, and Rahul now must rebuild with Ravindra Jadeja at the other end.
That was not to be as Rahul fell soon after reaching the landmark. Until then, he was immovable, chiselling away at the deficit. Rahul’s dismissal brings India back on the corridor of uncertainty.
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