Opener KL Rahul on Monday slammed his ninth Test century and third in England on the fourth day of the first Test match at Headingley. The opener, who threw away his wicket in the first innings after scoring a silky 42, reached his milestone off 202 balls. His unbeaten knock is studded with 13 boundaries. The 33-year-old Rahul looked solid throughout his knock as India extended their overall lead. India were off to a disastrous start as they lost skipper Shubman Gill seven balls into the day’s play, but the English bowlers did not taste further success in the first session, though they kept testing the two batters with their probing line and length. Rahul looked calm, composed, and self-assured at the other end, helping India swell the lead brick by brick, even as Pant seemed to tone down his attacking approach and blocked without any difficulty.
Luck also smiled on Rahul as Harry Brook dropped him at gully after the batter tried to steer a quick Josh Tongue delivery. Earlier, Rahul had scored centuries at The Oval in 2018 and Lord’s in 2021. Interestingly, only one of his nine to date has come at home.Most 100s in SENA Countries for India in Tests:17 – Sachin Tendulkar12 – Virat Kohli10 – Rahul Dravid8 – Sunil Gavaskar6* – Mohammad Azharuddin, KL Rahul
