2nd Test, Day 1: Centurion KL Rahul leads India's charge

Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma helped Team India dominate proceedings on the first day of the second Test against England at Lord’s. The duo stitched a partnership of 126 runs in 43.4 overs to help the visitors establish a solid platform having been sent in to bat by Joe Root. Rohit and Rahul stitched the first opening stand in excess of 100 runs for India in Tests outside Asia since January 2011. The last pair to do so were Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (137) against South Africa in Centurion in Dec 2010.

Rohit was the first to depart, having been dismissed for 83 runs off 145 deliveries in an innings comprising of 11 boundaries and one six. Rahul continued to battle it out, scoring an excellent century. The cricketer is now the first Indian opener to score a century at Lord’s in 31 years. Vinoo Mankad was the first opener from the nation to score a ton at the stadium, after accumulating a score of 184 back in 1952. Team India coach Ravi Shastri was the next man to achieve the unique milestone, having scored a 100 in 1990.

KL Rahul’s sensational ton

Rahul has now joined Sehwag on the second spot in the list of most centuries by an Indian opener in Tests outside Asia. The cricketer and Sehwag have now recorded the milestone on four occasions, with Sunil Gavaskar leading the charts having registered the feat 15 times. Vinoo Mankad and Shastri are placed third with three tons apiece. Rahul is further now the third Indian to score a Test 100 at the Oval and also at Lord’s (both in London), after Shastri and Rahul Dravid.

India ended the day’s play with a scoreline of 276/3 in 90 overs, with Rahul (127) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) the batsmen at the crease. While the two openers were quite impressive, Cheteshwar Pujara failed to make much of an impact. Pujara was dismissed for 9 runs off 23 deliveries, in an innings comprising of a boundary. The cricketer’s highest Test score in his last 10 Test innings is 21, which is an indication of his struggle. In 23 innings at No.3 since 2020, Pujara has scored just 552 runs at an average of 25.

The cricketer was dismissed by veteran pacer James Anderson, marking the ninth instance of the batsman being dismissed by the English cricketer. The only batsman Anderson has dismissed more is Peter Siddle with 11 dismissals. Skipper Virat Kohli played a gritty knock of 42 runs off 103 deliveries with three boundaries to his credit. However, Kohli’s dismissal for a low score by his standards is an area of concern. Anderson was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Ollie Robinson chipped in with 1 dismissal.

Lineups:

Teams:
England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.