ENG vs IND 2018: Twitter Hails KL Rahul For Fighting Century At The Oval

KL Rahul roared back to form in style, slamming a fighting ton to keep India alive in the ongoing fifth England vs India Test at the Oval.

KL Rahul began his tour of England on a perfect note. In the first T20I, he slammed a stunning tone to guide India to a comprehensive win. However, things did not go down well for Rahul since then.

Prior to the latest knock, his highest knock since the century was 37 which came in the first innings of the ongoing Test. In the ODIs, he scored 9 and 0 before being dropped. The poor form continued in Tests too.  In the series-opener, he scored 4 and 13.  In the second game at Lord’s, he managed 8 and 10. He looked good at Trent Bridge but threw away the starts, thus scoring 23 and 36.

And his following three knocks yielded scores of 19, 0 37.  Another poor outing would have surely put his spot in the Test team in doubt. However, Rahul made the most of his last opportunity and slammed a century to prove his worth. His century came at a time when India desperately needed someone to score big with the bat.

Chasing an improbable 464, India lost Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli for just 2 runs. Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane then steadied the ship as India ended the fourth day on 58 for 3. On day four, the duo started in the same manner and took the score past the 100-run mark. However, just when it looked the duo is set for a big stand, Moeen Ali dismissed Rahane to end the 118-run stand. One run later, Ben Stokes dismissed Hanuma Vihari for a duck to reduce India to 121 for 5.

But Rahul held firm from one end and went on to score his fifth Test century. At lunch, India were 167 for 5.

Meanwhile, fans and others were quick to praise Rahul for his latest knock. Here are some of the reactions.

Perhaps the least celebrated one but KL Rahul has a hundred in a Test in England.#ENGvIND

— ?????? ????? (@GautamSodhi1) September 11, 2018

Quite exceptional batting from KL Rahul! #ENGvIND

— Rhodes (@Tom_Rhodes) September 11, 2018

Centuries by Indian openers in Tests outside Asia since 2015:

KL Rahul – 3 in 16 inns (SCG, Kingston, Oval)

All other openers – 0 in 28 inns (Just two 50s)#EngvInd

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) September 11, 2018

Fabulous century, full of bold, even audacious shots, from KL Rahul. Maybe this style is indeed the way ahead for him.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 11, 2018

Rahul’s century too late to save the series, just in time to salvage his career

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 11, 2018

Finally a Test 100 for L Rahul after 28 innings and 20 months!
His last was the 199 he made against England at Chennai in Dec 2016#EngvInd

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 11, 2018

KL Rahul becomes only the third Indian batsman to score a century in this England tour after Kohli and Pujara. #ENGvIND

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) September 11, 2018

So happy to see KL Rahul score a hundred. He may have not got it yet but showed signs of his capability to score runs. Glad not to have joined the 'drop KL' bandwagon. #ENGvIND

— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) September 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/Kohlicious_/status/1039483460119740416

Congrats bro @klrahul11 on a fantastic hundred. Many more to come for this outstanding young batsman. Well played ? pic.twitter.com/RCsPjm1ofq

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) September 11, 2018

Der se aaye, lekin durust aaye.
This innings has reinforced the point that Rahul has the skills…just needs to be consistent. Well played, KL ??? #EngvInd

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 11, 2018

First day of the tour: KL Rahul scored a T20 hundred
Last day of the tour: KL Rahul scored Test hundred. #ENGvIND

— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) September 11, 2018