Rohit Sharma - KL Rahul Become 3rd Indian Opening Pair To Register 100 Runs Partnership At Lord's

Rohit Sharma recorded his first Test fifty in England – although a bit scratchy at times – and KL Rahul continuing his immovable stay at the crease on return to the Test eleven, helped India register only their third 100-run opening stand at Lord’s on Thursday.

Before this effort by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy in 1952, and Sunil Gavaskar and Farokh Engineer in 1974, were the only two Indian opening pairs to have recorded a century opening stand at the storied Lord’s.

Asian players have always found it difficult to adjust and score runs in English conditions. The relentless English pace attacks, and the Dukes ball, coupled with their techniques and mindset of piling runs on low, turning Asian tracks have made it difficult for batters to achieve such feats in pairs, let alone individually.

Rohit Sharma moves closer to century; KL Rahul steady at other end

The duo of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul – one who is under scrutiny every time he travels abroad and the other who is making his return to the Test eleven after nearly two years – have batted – and left – brilliantly in the two Tests so far on this tour.

They have been clear of their plans: leave the threatening deliveries outside the off-stump and cash in on anything loose. Both of them also played with soft hands so that the edges don’t carry to the slips; some of them went past the slips to boundaries.

After a 97-run stand at Trent Bridge, on Thursday at Lord’s, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went at snail’s pace in the first 12 overs, scoring only 14 runs against James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, both of whom bowled like machines giving little away to the openers. Then they took the attack to the change bowlers – Sam Curran, Mark Wood, and Moeen Ali.

Rohit Sharma, who is yet to score an overseas Test century, took apart Curran in the 15th over with four boundaries. He then took the challenge against Wood’s pace: while he was lucky to see his top-edge fall in the stand, the Mumbai batsman asserted his authority with a disdainful pull.

Rahul, who has been blocking and blocking on the other end and hadn’t yet hit a single boundary till the 40th over, joined Rohit Sharma in the attack by skipping down to launch Ali into the stands. At the end of the 42nd over, the visitors have put 122 on the board with no loss, with Rohit Sharma inching closer to his maiden overseas Test ton.

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