India opener KL Rahul has impressed everyone with his batting at the top in both Tests against England in the ongoing series. While Rahul was picked in the playing XI after injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, the right-hander made the most of this opportunity.
The former India cricketer in his column for ESPNCricinfo, explained the comeback story of KL Rahul who scored a superb century at Lord’s on the back of a nice 84 in the first Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
“Rahul's comeback as an opener in Test cricket wasn't so much about his ability to succeed at the top - you don't score five Test tons (four of them away from home) if you don't have the skills. For me, it was about his eagerness to do the right thing. Was he keen or was he anxious?” Chopra wrote.
The cricketer-turned-commentator then pointed out that the 84 runs in Nottingham showed that he is backing his skills and the fantastic ton at the Home of Cricket announced his return.
“If his first innings of the tour, 84 at Trent Bridge, showed that he's trusting his skills against the new ball, Rahul's century at Lord's established that he is back for good.”
“It takes a lot of patience and self-belief to hang around for 18 runs off 100 balls when you know you have the shots to score faster, and to also insulate yourself from the fact that your opening partner has outscored you massively (at that point, Rohit Sharma was on 81 of 122 balls),” Chopra further wrote.
The former cricketer then showed the change in the 29-year-old’s mindset as he was patient and left a lot of balls alone in his century knock.
“Rahul isn't anxiously eager to get bat on ball and is in a happy place while leaving a lot of deliveries alone. He isn't anxiously eager to hit an extra shot on the up either. Instead, he's willing to bide his time and wait for the right moment to up the ante,” the 43-year-old wrote.
“It's not that minor errors will never find their way into his batting or that he'll never go out of form again, but it's very heartening to see him bat the way he is right now. The next challenge for him is to extend this good form for as long as possible,” he signed off.
Thus, it will be exciting to see how the Indian openers perform in the upcoming third Test match scheduled to be played at Headingley in Leeds from 25 August.
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
