KL Rahul became the first Asian opener to have multiple centuries at the home of cricket, the Lord’s ground, when he scored 100 in the ongoing third Test between England and India on day three, July 12.

Rahul and Rishabh Pant added more than 100 runs together as India looked to reduce the deficit, as England had scored 387 runs. Joe Root had made 104, and Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse made fifties, while Jasprit Bumrah took 5/74.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (13), Shubman Gill (16), and Karun Nair (40) got starts but couldn’t capitalize, but Rishabh Pant (74) and KL Rahul hammered the opposition bowling. They added 141 runs before a Ben Stokes direct hit ran out Rishabh Pant in the last over before lunch.

Pant dabbed the ball towards mid-off and set off for a quick run to get Rahul on the strike, who was on 98, but Stokes’ hit caught Pant short of the crease.

“First, obviously not ideal, and there was a conversation a couple of overs before that, I told him that I will try and get my 100 if possible before lunch. With Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought it was a good chance for me to get it, but unfortunately, I hit it straight to the fielder. It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary, but I hit it straight to the fielder.

Then I think he just wanted to rotate the strike and see if he could put me back on strike. It shouldn't have happened, running out at that stage. I think it really changed the momentum. It was disappointing for both of us,” KL Rahul said at stumps on day three.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul completed his century just after lunch and got out soon after. This was Rahul’s second century at Lord’s, with the first one coming in 2021. The classy Indian opener revealed the work he put in to improve his reaction time, thanks to the sound guidance of coaches who work in Formula 1.

“In the last year or so, or the last couple of years, I have worked on a few mental drills. I spent a bit of time with an expert who can help me improve my reaction time. And some mental drills and games that you can play that help you get better with your reaction time and stuff like that.

I have seen this in Formula One quite a lot. I picked this up from one of the guys that I worked with in Austria's Salzburg. I had the opportunity to go there and work with some of the coaches. That work with the elite Formula One guys and other adventure sports people who require a lot of this mental side of the game helped a lot. So, I've worked on that, and I guess that's the only thing that's been different in the last year or so,” Rahul added.

The century on Saturday was not as free-flowing as the last one in Leeds, owing to the slow pace of the wicket, but Rahul found a way to bat properly.

“I've always enjoyed batting for long periods, even when I was growing up. Even when I played junior cricket, I always enjoyed batting for long hours, and I could focus for long hours. I think a bit of that and a bit of this has just helped me in the last few years. That's something that I've strived for all my career: to be consistent and perform consistently. So I'm happy that the performances are coming through in the last few years,” he signed off.

(PTI inputs)