KL Rahul's stylish hundred was the highlight of India's performance on the opening day of the second Test match at the Lord's Cricket Ground on Thursday. The Karnataka batsman, who was chosen to open the innings for India after injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, made the most of this opportunity by thwarting the English bowling attack and then gradually coming out with flowery cover drives and exquisitely timed shots to get to his sixth Test hundred and his first since his 149 at the Oval in 2018. His hundred and strong partnerships with Rohit Sharma (83) and skipper Virat Kohli (42), helped India take complete control of proceedings to end on 276/3 on the first day of the second Test at the Lord's Cricket Ground. KL Rahul Becomes 10th Indian To Score Test Century At Lord's: List Of Indian Players Who Have Registered A Hundred At the Venue In Longest Format
Members of the cricketing fraternity were very pleased with this knock and showered praise on the right-hander. Check out some of the reactions:
Virender Sehwag was clearly impressed!
Played second fiddle when Rohit Sharma was going great guns and then accelerated to score a wonderful century 💯
Staying not out at close would have been as satisfying as scoring the hundred. Well done #KLRahul , many more today. pic.twitter.com/yvRdd1zfI2
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 13, 2021
And so was VVS Laxman
Missed out on a hundred in the first test , but this has been an innings of the highest class from #KLRahul.
A magnificent century at #Lords , hoping he converts this into a really big one. pic.twitter.com/ZFdW87vDhp
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 12, 2021
Michael Vaughan also rated the top-class knock
Perfect openers innings @klrahul11 !! A joy to watch .. #ENGvsIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 12, 2021
Skipper Virat Kohli joined in the praise. See his Instagram story:
'A century to be proud of'
A century to be proud of for #KLRahul. Loved the innings progression graphic we had showing how patient he was. First 20 took 105 balls and thereafter, he owned the crease
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 12, 2021
Dinesh Karthik loved it too!
Scaling heights there @klrahul11 . Well played in tough conditions ❤️👍🏽
Many more buddy #ENGvsIND
— DK (@DineshKarthik) August 12, 2021
KL Rahul's IPL team Punjab Kings too congratulated the player:
A century at the Mecca of Cricket is always special ❤️
Thank you KL Rahul for the lovely treat 🤤🥰#ENGvIND #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #CaptainPunjab pic.twitter.com/mjLb58zvhM
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) August 12, 2021
He ended the day, unbeaten on 127* and the visitors would bank on him to once again play the way he did on the first day so that India can finish their first innings on a high. Rahul had been in good form in the first Test as well, which had earlier ended in a draw after rain washed out the fifth day's play in Nottingham.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2021 08:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).