Rahul remained unbeaten on 127 as India finished with 276/3 on Day 1 at Lord's.
High on confidence after scores of 84 and 26 in the first Test at Trent Bridge, Rahul scored 127 not out at the close of play on Day 1 with India posting 276/3 in 90 overs.
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The right-hander was watchful in the first session as his opening partner Rohit Sharma dominated the English attack, scoring 83 with 11 fours and 1 six. The duo added 126 runs for the opening wicket to lead the foundation for visitors’ big first-innings total.
After the day’s play, Rohit showered rich praise on Rahul, saying that the latter executed his plans to perfection during his superb hundred.
“It was probably the best I have seen KL bat and he was in control from ball one till we finished the day today. Very much in control," Rohit said in the post-day press conference.
“At no given point, it looked like he was confused or thinking too much. He was very clear with his plans and when you trust your plans, it definitely works. I thought today was his day and he made it really count," he added.
Rohit Sharma was pleased that both him and Rahul were able to curb their natural instincts while facing the new ball.
“That’s the challenge of Test cricket. You may have lot of shots in your book but when you know that conditions are against you, you have to keep talking to yourself and you have to cut down the shots that are unnecessary specially with the new ball," he remarked.
“Once you play and get the feel of the pitch and conditions, then may be you can try and play some shots. We respect the conditions here and it’s also important to go out and implement plans. That is something us as a batting group have done reasonably well — right from Australia tour to today."
“Our batters now understand their role which is the most important thing and I think they are playing by their roles."
When asked what kind of discussions he had with Rahul as they opened in England for the first time, Rohit replied: “Honestly, there was no discussion as KL was not supposed to play the first game and Mayank (Agarwal) was supposed to play that game.”
“Unfortunately, he (Mayank) got hit on his head and he missed out due to concussion and then only KL stepped in. Once we went out to bat, we were discussing about what we need to do and things like that. Yes, first time I have played with KL in Test cricket but I have batted with him a number of times."
“We know each others games and we understand each others’ games. And it’s important to keep talking in the middle. It can be very lonely out there, if you are not communicating and I feel it’s nice to have a partner who is willing to communicate and take the game forward.
“KL and myself — our mindsets are pretty similar and we want to take the game forward."
According to Rohit, it wasn’t his best innings in overseas conditions but certainly the most challenging one.
“I wouldn’t say the best innings because as long as you play you will have lot of opportunities but certainly the most challenging one. I felt very good, really happy with the way we started off and unfortunate dismissal bit we couldn’t have done anything about it," he signed off.
(With PTI inputs)