Rahul on the rampage
Indian opener puts on a Test masterclass
Joe Root struggles to sleep during Test matches, his mind whirring as he constantly replays decisions in his head, and the insomnia will not have been helped by his decision here.
He fell into the trap of placing too much faith in overhead conditions, opting to bowl first only to see the day belong to India’s batsmen.
The grey overcast skies have lulled many captains onto the rocks, and since 2014 England have inserted their opponents 13 times, but won on only five occasions.
This was the first time in a home Test that England had conceded 250 and taken only two wickets after putting the opposition in to bat and even the late dismissal of Virat Kohli by Ollie Robinson did little to change the day – India well on top at 276 for three.
As the sun bathed Lord’s in evening warmth and the shadows lengthened across the outfield, KL Rahul chalked his name on the honours board with a superb, chanceless century, putting away the big shots and waiting for the bad ball to drive. Root sportingly clapped his hundred as he stood at first slip and looked down at his bootlaces, perhaps pondering his decision.
Root’s call was understandable given the weather and his top-order problems, and plenty of former England captains on commentary duty would have done the same. However, his bowlers froze under the pressure and failed to make India play enough against the new ball. They did not break through until halfway into the afternoon session, by which time the initiative had gone.
James Anderson was declared fit before play, overcoming a thigh strain, and that may have emboldened Root, but for the seventh time this summer he was wicketless in his first spell, zipping the ball past the bat but too easy for the openers to leave. Robinson bowled some wonderful balls all day, but overall looked weary, playing back-to-back Tests for the first time, and it was just too much to expect him to step into Stuart Broad’s shoes.
“There were probably 10 or 15 play and misses that I could count and on another day we might have had them two or three down early,” Robinson argued.
The back-up for Anderson and Robinson has been non-existent in this series, with 12 of the 13 wickets to fall taken by those two. Sam Curran’s day started poorly, with 16 taken off his fourth over by Rohit Sharma as he swung the ball into the pads and was picked off with ease. He bowled better later with the old ball and bowling at the Pavilion End, but England badly need Chris Woakes to recover from his heel injury in time for the next Test.
Mark Wood’s record at home is far weaker than overseas – he averages 44 in England compared to 22 abroad because he does not do enough with the ball. Movement, not necessarily pace, is key on English Test pitches and he went at four an over. The worry for Root with a winter in Australia looming, was that once again his bowlers looked toothless on a slow pitch when the ball stopped swinging.
Credit though goes to Rohit and Rahul, who played late with soft hands and classical, orthodox techniques that make them look as though they were brought up playing the Dukes ball on gloomy mornings. It was a lesson for England’s top order rejigged by the inclusion of Haseeb Hameed for Zak Crawley; Dom Sibley earning another chance.
Rohit, the star of the Mumbai Indians, has batted beautifully in this series, adapting serenely from one-day to Test cricket. The 126 he put on with Rahul was only India’s second hundred opening stand in England since the days of Sunil Gavaskar, and rarely can there have been a better performance from Indian openers in such good bowling conditions overseas.
There were no wafts playing attacking shots and they concentrated on sound defence and disciplined batting. Rohit opted for his one-day method batting further to the leg side to negate lbw to the ball nipping back, confident he knew where his off stump was so he could judge what to play.
Rohit took only eight runs off his first 46 balls, while Rahul had scored just 18 by the time he faced 100 deliveries without hitting a four, the pair embodying India’s determination to win in England.
Root did not bowl Wood until after lunch, preferring to go after India with his swing bowlers, and it was not until midway through the afternoon that England broke through. Anderson returned to the Pavilion End and looked much better bowling with the slope and threatening to move the ball back in.
Rohit was bowled by Anderson nipping it back through the gate in his second over back and the bowler immediately caused problems for Cheteshwar Pujara, who is playing for his place. Pujara had an extra net on Wednesday but it did not help, he was constantly fidgeting and looking nervy against Anderson. He edged through a vacant third slip playing away from his body, but did not heed the warning, out soon after playing a similar shot to an outswinger from Anderson with Jonny Bairstow, having plugged the gap and replaced Sibley in the cordon after his drop last week, taking the chance.
Rahul played more shots after Rohit’s dismissal, hitting his first boundary when he lofted Moeen Ali for six, before going into his shell again as the hundred beckoned. He reached his century off 212 balls with an inside edge, and apart from a few anxious moments with his running between the wickets, it was a calm and composed innings.
Kohli was looking the part, reaching his highest score at Lord’s in adding 117 with Rahul, before Robinson produced an absolute beauty that turned him square and took the edge, for a catch low down at first slip by Root.