India star batter KL Rahul delivered a brilliant innings under pressure, scoring a century that anchored India’s innings and helped them stay firmly in the contest against England. Resuming at 145/3 on Saturday, Rahul and Rishabh Pant added a crucial 141-run stand, guiding India to 248/4 at lunch on Saturday, responding to England’s 387.
Pant began the session aggressively, hitting a boundary off the first ball from Jofra Archer, while Rahul played with poise and control.
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He accelerated with three consecutive boundaries off Brydon Carse in the 54th over, eventually bringing up his fourth Test century in England in the 67th over. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!With his second ton in this series and fourth overall, this puts him second only to Graeme Smith (five) among visiting openers in England since 2000. Rahul’s ton also marked his second at Lord’s, placing him in elite company with Bill Brown, Gordon Greenidge, Graeme Smith, and himself as visiting openers with multiple hundreds at the iconic venue.ALSO SEE: Most runs in IND vs ENG matches Shortly after lunch, Rahul brought up his century with 13 fours, but his joy was short-lived. In the 68th over, Shoaib Bashir struck with a well-flighted delivery. Rahul, looking to drive through the covers, edged to Harry Brook at slip, dismissed for exactly 100. He looked skyward in frustration — both set batters now gone around the interval, handing England a way back into the game.Earlier, Joe Root’s 104 and lower-order fifties from Carse (56) and Jamie Smith (53) gave England a strong total. For India, Jasprit Bumrah led with 5/74, while Siraj and Nitish Reddy chipped in.With Rahul’s century and dismissal, the Test remains delicately poised heading into the crucial second session.
