KL Rahul Equals Virender Sehwag's Record Of 4 Test Hundreds As Opener Outside Asia; Sunil Gavaskar Sits At The Top With 15

On Thursday, Indian opener KL Rahul got his name inscribed at Lord’s Honours board with a sublime century at the storied venue.

KL Rahul scored his 6th Test ton, and 4th outside Asia – one came in India and another in Sri Lanka – joining Virender Sehwag at the second place for most Test centuries for an Indian as an opener outside the Asian continent. Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar sits comfortably atop the list with 15 such hundreds – outside Asia an opener – to his name.

The Karnataka batsman hit his maiden Test ton in 2015 in Sydney; his second in Colombo the same year. Next year, KL Rahul continued his brilliant form to hit a couple of more three-figure scores in Kingston and Chennai. In between 2017 and 2021, he managed a solitary Test century – against England at Oval in 2018 – as his form slumped in red-ball cricket and was also dropped.

KL Rahul announced his return in Test eleven with a memorable century:

The restraint to play any attacking shot in the first half of his innings at Lord’s has been the most remarkable aspect of KL Rahul’s knock on Thursday. After being inserted in first under overcast conditions by Joe Root, that is the template KL Rahul, and to an extent, Rohit Sharma applied successfully.

Rahul, who was coming in after a couple of impressive outings in the first Test, hit his first absolute attacking shot on the first ball of the 41st over – a down the ground six over the head of bowler Moeen Ali. Till then, he had abstained himself from going after any of England’s four pacers, in particular against James Anderson and Ollie Robinson.

He left a plenty percentage of balls outside off-stump or blocked the ones he was forced to play throughout his innings. Markedly, he has looked far more assured and decisive of deliveries on and outside off, in the channel, than he did on the 2018 tour.

Post that six off Ali, the right-hander broke his shackles further. He unleashed a series of drives and cuts on the offside and whips off the pads and notched up his fantastic century of the 212th delivery and remained unbeaten at the end of the day on 127.

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