 "India opener KL Rahul celebrates after completing his century on Day 4 of the first Test against England in Headingley. AP")
India opener KL Rahul joined the growing list of centurions in the first Test against England at Headingley on Monday, bringing up the milestone after grinding his way through 202 deliveries on a wicket that has become slightly tricky to bat on.
Rahul, who is the senior-most member of the Indian squad following Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s Test retirements last month, brought up the milestone with a brace off off-spinner Shoaib Bashir at the stroke of the second drinks interval on Day 4.
After facing criticism for falling narrowly short of a half-century while playing a “flashy shot” on the opening day, and Rahul came up with a solid response in the second innings, playing a near flawless innings in which he held fort firmly at his end. The wicketkeeper-batter collected 13 fours during his knock in which he had been dropped on 58 by Harry Brook at gully.
Rahul becomes the fifth batter to score a century in the ongoing Test after teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as well as England’s Ollie Pope.
Social media heaps praise on Rahul
Here are some of the reactions to Rahul’s splendid knock: