Rahul century, Rohit 83 give India perfect start on Day 1

Powered by an excellent century from KL Rahul and a delightful 83 from Rohit Sharma, India enjoyed the perfect start to the 2nd Test match against England at Lord’s. The Indian openers fought through tricky overcast conditions throughout the morning after being put in to bat by Joe Root and laid the perfect platform for India to put on a big first innings score. Rahul and Sharma shared an opening partnership of 126 – India’s first opening century stand outside Asia since 2010 – and finished the day in a dominant position at 276/3 with KL Rahul still at the crease on 127* alongside Ajinkya Rahane. 

With the rain delaying the start of the day’s play and the clouds hanging low throughout the morning, Joe Root opted to bowl first after winning the toss to make the most of the challenging conditions. The Indian openers, however, showed tremendous application and skill to see out James Anderson and Robinson’s lively spell with the new ball.

Both seamers consistently hit a good length and got the ball to move both ways, but Rahul and Rohit were immensely disciplined throughout the first hour, scoring only 11 runs in the first ten overs.

Unfortunately for England, all the pressure built up by James Anderson and Ollie Robinson was instantly released after Sam Curran entered the attack. The left-armer lacked the same speed and accuracy with the ball, and Rohit Sharma looked to attack the all-rounder, taking four boundaries off Curran in one over to keep the scoreboard ticking.

India’s patience ensured they ended the first session without losing a wicket, and Rohit Sharma looked to increase the tempo after Lunch while KL Rahul ground it out at the other end. Sharma enjoyed the extra pace of Mark Wood and continued to counter-attack to bring up the century stand. The Bombay Batter even brought up his highest Test score away from home, but couldn’t convert it into a century after James Anderson produced a piece of magic to dismiss Rohit.

The 39-year-old followed it up with the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, but KL Rahul continued to lead the charge for India and upped his scoring rate as the sun made its first appearance of the day. Rahul feasted on any over-pitched deliveries from the English seamers and brought up the 200 for India alongside his captain – Virat Kohli.

After missing out on a ton in the previous Test, Rahul made the most of his start at Lord’s and finally reached his century off 212 balls and got his name on the Lord’s Honours Board with a cut shot off Mark Wood to the third man boundary. England got the crucial wicket off Virat Kohli with the new ball, but India took the honours on day one and set up a potential landmark away victory at the home of cricket thanks to the grit and graft shown by the openers.