KL Rahul's masterclass in the second innings on Day Four of the ongoing first Test against England in Leeds has put the visitors in a pole position. The right-hand batter scored (137) and put on a solid 195- run fifth-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. In his innings, Rahul hardly played a false shot and was rewarded for his persistence. After missing out on the first innings, despite getting to a solid start, the India opener made sure in the second innings that his start did not go unnoticed.
The veteran batter's hard toil in the middle has impressed him and has given confidence that he can be a long-term opening option after Rohit Sharma's Test retirement. However, despite earning praise from almost every expert and fan, Rahul's Test average continues to hover in the mid-30s in a stop-start Test career that has spanned more than a decade. The 32-year-old has opened up about having completely gone off track when in recent years, he played as a middle-order batter due to Rohit's presence at the top.
“The last couple of years I’ve forgotten what my position is and what I’m comfortable doing. I’m happy to be given different responsibilities and different roles. Makes the game exciting and makes me want to challenge myself train that much harder, and work on my game a little bit more. So I’ve quite enjoyed doing that,” Rahul told reporters after scoring 137 off 247 deliveries.
“And the last couple of series, my role has been to open the batting, and I’ve enjoyed doing that as well. Yeah, I mean that’s something that I did growing up, and all my early years as a cricketer was me opening the batting. So yeah, I’m happy that I’m back doing that, and I’m happy that I’m doing the job for the team.”
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Not chasing records at this moment of my career: KL Rahul
KL Rahul further stated that while he is consciously making efforts to improve his average Test record, he said that he is not chasing any records and does not want to put undue pressure on himself at this stage of his career.
“Of course, it hurts when I look at my average. But at this stage, I don’t want to think about numbers. I want to make an impact whenever I get a chance and enjoy playing Test cricket for India. It’s what I grew up loving,” Rahul said.
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“I don’t mind proving myself all the time. That’s how any sport is – to always perform in every tournament. That’s the case with international cricketers anywhere in the world. But that’s not the hard part – it’s the people who make the decisions who seem to forget what the player has done in the recent tournament. It has been the challenge for me,” Rahul had told former England captain Nasser Hussain in a Sky Sports interview.
Rahul's superb knock has put India in a pole position, as they have set a target of 371 for the hosts on a tricky Day 5 Leeds pitch.
