India batter KL Rahul slammed his 10th century in Test cricket and etched his name in the Lord's Honours Board once again on Saturday (July 12).

Rahul, who had slammed a hundred in the first Test of the ongoing series against England at Headingley, notched up this three-figure mark in 176 balls, studded with 13 boundaries.

In doing so, the right-handed opener became only the second Indian after former skipper Dilip Vengsarkar to get more than one mention at the Lord's Honours Board. While Vengsarkar scored three hundreds at Lord's - 103 (1979), 157 (1982) and 102 not out (1986), Rahul's previous ton (129) at the hallowed ground came in 2021.

Thanks to his 100-run knock, India equalled England’s first innings score of 387 on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test.

After the close of play, Rahul addressed the media and shared key insights into what has helped him find consistency in recent times.

"I spent some time with an expert for some mental drills to improve my reaction times," he told reporters.

"Seen this in Formula One. Worked with coaches who work with F1 guys and adventure sport. That's the only thing which has been different. I always enjoy batting long hours. I have strived for consistency all my career. Happy that performances are coming through now."

Rahul admitted that he was enjoying the responsibility of opening the innings again for India. "Batting at top of the order feels good. Happy that I am using the opportunity," he said.

The third day’s play also saw a drama when England openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, came out to bat for a brief period before stumps.

After Jasprit Bumrah bowled five deliveries in what was expected to be a two-over burst, Crawley called for the physio, prompting Indian players to accuse him of time-wasting. Skipper Shubman Gill exchanged heated words with the lanky opener as tempers flared.

Rahul, however, played down the incident, saying: 

“What happened at the end is, I mean, it's just part of the game now. I mean, this is every, I understand from an opening batter's point of view. I have, I can, I know exactly what is going on, and everyone knows exactly what is going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes,”

“We wanted to bowl two overs. There were six minutes left. Obviously, two overs is a no-brainer that any team will bowl two overs with six minutes to go. It's a bit of theatrics at the end. We were all pumped up either way because we know how difficult it is for a batter to come into bat for two overs when you've been in the field all day. We were hoping we could get a wicket there,” he added.

With the first innings scores level and England at 2/0 in their second essay, the Test match is delicately poised heading into the penultimate day.

(With Times of India / ANI inputs)