Team India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul impressed everyone by the patience with which they played the last few overs before Stumps on Day 2 of this ongoing fourth Test match between India and England at the Kennington Oval in London.
The former India cricketer Zaheer Khan was one of them as he lauded both openers for their intent in the last session which he believes has sent out a strong message to England that they are pushing for a win.
“Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's intent was really impressive. It is not easy for batters to play out that last hour. There is always that dilemma as to whether they must bat for stumps or keep playing their natural game.
Often batters get confused in such a situation and lose their wicket as well. From that perspective, the Team India openers batted positively, played their shots and showed great intent,” Khan told Cricbuzz.
The left-arm quick then talked about how the game would pan out if the tourists bat out Day 3 with the same dedication.
“If you look at the run rate, India scored at nearly three an over. Earlier, (when conditions were tough) they were leaving the balls alone. By playing positive cricket, Team India’s openers have sent out a strong message to England, that they are here to score runs and want to win the game,” the former cricketer said.
“They will be looking to first go past the deficit and then set England a challenging total. The fourth day or fifth day pitch will then come into play. India need to remain positive on Day 3. This is a good wicket and if they can score runs, they can come back into a winning position,” he added.
The 42-year-old then pointed out that even though England are confident owing to their win in third Test at Leeds, this English team can be put under pressure which was seen during the second Test at Lord’s where India won a historic match.
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“This England team can be put under pressure. We saw it at Lord’s and, before that, in the first Test as well.
Yes, Ollie Pope batted really well and could provide good support to skipper Joe Root in the second innings. I still feel this current England side is susceptible under pressure. India have an opportunity but it all depends on how the batters grab it,” the ex-cricketer concluded.
Thus, with Rohit-Rahul duo ensuring India have all their 10 wickets intact at the end of Day 2, it will be exciting to see how the batting unit performs on the third day of this Test match with the series being well poised at 1-1.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
