KL Rahul Steals the Limelight Despite India's Defeat at Lord's Test

Though India lost the third Test at Lord's to England by a mere 22 runs it was KL Rahul who stole the limelight for all the good reasons. His brilliant batting display earned him accolades from many of whom were former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar who called seeing Rahul bat his greatest pleasure in the current series. Rahul played with concentration patience and class during the match demonstrating everyone why he is one of India's best openers. For all the heartbreak of the defeat his work was greatly admired and brought out as a huge plus for India.

Rahul's hundred at Lord's in the third Test was one to remember. It marked his second century at the historic venue making him only the second Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar to achieve this feat more than once. His composed innings helped India stay in the game and fight hard against a strong English side. Rahul's century was crafted with 13 beautiful boundaries and solid defense and his partnership with Rishabh Pant added crucial runs to India’s total. Pant himself contributed 74 runs and the pair contributed 141 runs as a pair which took India to near England's score.

In this series Rahul has been India's most reliable batsman. With 375 runs in three games with a whopping average of 62.50 he has already contributed two centuries and a half-century. This steady performance has raised his England batting average from the 30s to above 40 which indicates the improvement that he has made. In 12 Test matches in England he now has 989 runs at 41.20 with four centuries and two fifties. His best England score remains 149.

Sanjay Manjrekar while commenting during a cricket program said that Rahul always possessed the natural game and the talent but lacked consistency. He pointed out that KL had certain technical weaknesses in the past but put in the effort to remove them and now appears to be almost faultless. Manjrekar went on to state that Rahul could actually be referred to as 'Mr.'. He called him 'consistent' and complimented him for scoring over 200 runs in a series abroad for the first time which he felt was a big leap forward for the team as well as Rahul.

The thing that makes KL Rahul stand apart is his capability to perform outside Asia. Of his 10 Test centuries nine have been outside the subcontinent and seven of them have been achieved in challenging conditions in South Africa England New Zealand and Australia. These are not easy centers to bat particularly for opposition players but Rahul has demonstrated that he can play pace bounce and swing with confidence and determination. He even owns a Test century in Australia and two in South Africa that speaks volumes about his dependability in international tours.

Overall Rahul has played 61 Test matches and compiled 3632 runs in 107 innings at an average of 35.26 with 10 centuries and 18 fifties. Though some critics have raised questions about his inconsistency these figures reflect that he has still been a key contributor throughout the years. Actually his record against England specifically is very good. In 16 games he has made 1330 runs at a rate of 44.33 with five centuries and three half-centuries. His highest score against England is a remarkable 199 runs.

The third Test at Lord's was dramatic and closely contested cricket. England after opting to bat first scored 387 runs due to vital contributions by Joe Root who scored 104 runs and Brydon Carse who hammered 56 runs in a counter-attacking fashion. Jamie Smith also contributed with a breezy 51. Jasprit Bumrah was the best of the Indian bowlers picking five wickets and keeping the team in the game.

As India batted India's innings was again driven by KL Rahul who was the pillar of the team keeping the innings intact. Later Pant and then Ravindra Jadeja who played an excellent 72 helped India tie England's first innings score of 387 with their total of 387. Lower-order contributions such as Nitish Kumar Reddy's 30 and Washington Sundar's 23 also proved crucial for this revival. England's best bowler was Chris Woakes who collected three wickets.

England's second innings also did not go well as India's bowlers maintained the pressure. Washington Sundar turned the match around with an excellent spell of 4 wickets for 22 runs. He tore through the middle-order and facilitated England's dismissal at just 192. Root and Stokes attempted to stabilize the innings with a 67-run stand but were unable to continue for more than a while. India needed 193 and it seemed like a chase in reach initially.

But the Indian top order and middle order folded in a hurry and the team was struggling at 82 for 7 in no time. Ravindra Jadeja again proved to be a fighter with a gritty unbeaten 61 but the rest of the team fell around him. There was a glimmer of hope when Jadeja stitched together small partnerships with the tailenders but Mohammed Siraj's untimely dismissal where the ball rebounded back to knock over the stumps brought an end to India's innings at 170 22 runs short of the target.

Stokes was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-rounder performance with 44 and 33 runs in the two innings and five wickets overall including three crucial ones in India's second innings. There was also three-for from Jofra Archer who contributed significantly towards England's victory.

India is now 1-2 down in the series with two games remaining to be played. With the form KL Rahul is in and his confidence growing he has a great chance to make this his best Test series ever. His previous best was during the 2016-17 home series against Australia where he scored 393 runs with six fifties. This time he is already close to that number but with better averages and a more mature approach. KL Rahul's transition from a skillful but inconsistent batsman to one of the most dependable batsmen in foreign conditions is an example of hard work patience and determination. Supporters will now hope he maintains this form and assists India in recovering in the rest of the matches in the series.