Not many will know better than KL Rahul that outcomes in cricket – Test batting in particular – are not always proportional to your skill, preparation, fitness and application. KL Rahul has an anomalous Test career to back it up.
KL Rahul came into this Test having scored hundreds in some of the most difficult conditions during his career – seven out of eight away from home – but never having become the dominant Test batter his game suggests he should be. He averaged 33.57 before Headingley, which is quite underwhelming for a player of so many great innings.
Look at KL Rahul today, and you see an individual at peace with himself. Someone who knows precisely what his role is, what his position is in the larger scheme of things is. Someone who is freed up in the mind and is therefore perfectly primed to make the most of his ability, of which he has plenty.
It hasn’t always been thus. KL Rahul is hailed as one of the more versatile and adaptable batters of his generation, which has more than occasionally worked against him. Need a batter at No. 6 who will also keep wicket in South Africa because Rishabh Pant is recuperating from the horrific injuries following a road accident. KL Rahul. Need a stop-gap No. 4 because Virat Kohli is away on paternity leave KL Rahul, of course. Need a filler at the top of the batting order because Rohit Sharma is awaiting the birth of his second child Who else but KL Rahul.
Now, as Indian cricket heads into the future with an array of exceptional young talent that must carry the Test batting following the retirements of Rohit and Kohli, KL Rahul is sure of what is expected of him. To open the innings, which is what he has done most of his adult life and which is happiest and most at home doing. Already, the results of that role-clarity are obvious.
A solid Classy Hundred at Headingly by KL Rahul
KL Rahul was India’s most solid batter across the two innings of the first Test at Headingley. KL Rahul, by contrast, was all steely ice, unflappable, unflustered, untouched by the vagaries of the pitch, unaffected by the bite in the England attack. KL Rahul’s brilliant 137 on Saturday, a masterclass in concentration and the great gift of putting the previous ball out of his mind, gave him more Test hundreds as an Indian opener in England (three) than anyone else.
Eight of his nine centuries have come outside India, seven of them away from Asia, six in the SENA countries (two in South Africa and one in Australia to go with three here). KL Rahul is the master of playing time, of making the bowlers come to him and then putting them away without fuss, his cover-driving an absolute thing of beauty and a joy forever but not his only felicitous stroke.
While KL Rahul may have distanced himself from statistical obsession, the numbers still present a compelling story. His 137 was his third century in England – the most by any Indian opener in the country – taking him past the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. He also extended his tally of hundreds in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries to six, underlining his overseas pedigree.
Of the specialist batters in this squad, no one has played more Tests (59) than the stylist from Bengaluru. KL Rahul has had a taste of conditions everywhere in the cricket world and is in prime position to share his knowledge and wisdom with the younger group comprising Yashasvi Jaiswal – with whom he put on 201 in Perth in November and 91 in Leeds on Friday – as well as new captain Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, KL Rahul’s 33-year-old contemporary on the comeback trail after eight years.
Throughout his batting stints across the two innings at Headingley which spanned 490 minutes and 345 deliveries, KL Rahul was constantly in the ears of his numerous partners, not so much telling them what they should do and what they should not but keeping them honest without complicating things.
KL Rahul handled each of his colleagues differently, reiterating his man-management skills and taking on the role of the benevolent older brother that hitherto was Rohit’s. His multi-lingual skills allowed him to speak to different players in the language they are most comfortable with, his calmness an infectious trait that touched everyone else except Pant. In the Post Day press conference KL Rahul expressed himself about what he feel after getting a perhaps match winning century.
KL Rahul expresses himself after scoring the majestic 137 vs England
KL Rahul said that he is happy to have rediscovered his place with a hundred as an opener for the Indian team after floating around the batting order for a good part of the last few years. KL Rahul has seen himself being used in the middle order for India in Tests and made a return as an opener during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Once Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Tests, KL Rahul was reinstated as the opener, a position in which he has hit eight hundreds and scored 2982 runs. Speaking at the press conference after the end of Day 4 of the first Test against England, KL Rahul said that he had forgotten about his position in the team and was happy taking up different roles for the team.
The 33-year-old said that he was happy doing the job for the side as the opener.
“In the last couple of years, I’ve forgotten what my position is and what I am comfortable doing. I’m happy to be given different responsibilities and roles. It makes the game exciting and makes me want to challenge myself and train that much harder. I have quite enjoyed doing that.”
“The last couple of series, my role has been to open the batting. That is something that I did growing up and in my early career. I am happy that I am back doing that and I am happy that I am doing the job for the team,” said KL Rahul.
KL Rahul did make a few good starts during the BGT in Australia but failed to capitalise and score a big hundred. Similarly, in the Leeds Test, the Indian opener looked in full control during the first innings and scored 42 runs before a false shot led to his dismissal.
The stylish right-hander KL Rahul also stitched together a crucial 195-run stand with Rishabh Pant, which gave India a firm grip on the contest. In many ways, this innings marked a moment of personal redemption for Rahul, whose place in the side has often been questioned due to a fluctuating average and repeated opportunities.
He didn’t make the same mistake in the second innings and cashed in on his fine start to score 137 runs. KL Rahul said that he was happy with the way he batted in Australia but was disappointed that he couldn’t convert the starts. KL Rahul said that he learnt from the mistakes and was looking to ensure he didn’t waste his chances in England.
“It’s always disappointing for a batter when you get starts and don’t convert it and get a big score for the team. I was happy with how I batted in Australia, but very disappointed at the end of the series that I couldn’t convert those starts. I had opportunities in every game.”
“In an ideal world, I’d have liked to turn all of those innings into big knocks, but that didn’t happen. But that’s how the game goes. Sometimes you get a good ball, sometimes you play a bad shot. You learn from the mistakes. So I wanted to make sure that once I get a start, I make it count and score as many runs as I can,” said Rahul.
KL Rahul’s ninth Test hundred – and eighth overseas – helped India stretch their second innings lead to 370, setting a daunting 371-run target for the hosts.
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