 "KL Rahul scored his 11th Test century in Ahmedabad. Image: AFP")
India opener KL Rahul continued his amazing form with a brilliant century in the first Test match against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, October 3. This was his 11th Test hundred and his first at home in over eight years.
Rahul reached the milestone on Day 2 of the match. He came to the crease at an overnight score of 53 and completed his century in 190 balls, helping India move past 200 in response to the Windies’ 162 in the first innings. His last Test hundred at home was way back in December 2016 against England in Chennai.
With this hundred, Rahul now has 10 Test centuries as an opener for India, surpassing former captain Rohit Sharma and current India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who both have nine centuries at the top of the order. Only Sunil Gavaskar (33), Virender Sehwag (22), and Murali Vijay (12) have more hundreds than Rahul as Indian openers.
Most Test hundreds by Indian openers
Sunil Gavaskar – 33
Virender Sehwag – 22
Murali Vijay – 12
KL Rahul – 10
Gautam Gambhir – 9
Rohit Sharma – 9
Rahul has started the home season in style. Last week, he scored an unbeaten 176 not out in a 412-run chase against Australia A at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. He also scored a century in the third Test match against England at Lord’s earlier this year. Rahul has been looking in good form ever since being promoted to the top.
Meanwhile, Rahul was dismissed by Jomel Warrican right after the lunch break on Day 2 of the first Test. He went back to the pavilion for 100 off 197 balls, including 12 boundaries. Rahul has helped India set a solid platform in the first innings of the game as the lead has gone past 50 runs.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Shubman Gill also scored a half-century on Friday. Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 36 off 54 balls before getting dismissed on Day 1. Sai Sudharsan was removed cheaply later in the evening.