His last Test century at home came in 2016.
KL Rahul hit a magnificent ton against the West Indies in the first Test in Ahmedabad. Coming to open the innings, Rahul was composed as ever and looked solid from the start against a relatively inexperienced bowling attack.
He was unbeaten on 53 in 114 deliveries yesterday and got a reprieve in the first over of Day 2 when the ball flew between the wicketkeeper and the first slip. Since then, he has put a foot wrong and notched up his 11th Test century, making the most of the lifeline earlier in the innings.
This was special, as Rahul reached the three-figure mark for the first time in nine years and only the second at home, even though he did well overseas in this period. Between this and the last century, he played as many as 27 innings on Indian soil, averaging in the 40s, and hit 11 fifties, but that big figure eluded him.
He surely could have done better at home, but changes in his batting position didn’t help his case either. Finally, he has broken the jinx and come up with another quality knock as an opener when other batters in the top four failed to register big scores despite getting starts.
After years of underutilising his superior talent, KL Rahul finally finds consistency and has been marvellous this year, home and away. He has 649 runs at an average of more than 53 in 13 innings, including three fifties and as many centuries, this year.
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Earlier, he enjoyed a fabulous England tour, where he was the third-leading run-getter, with 532 runs at an average of 53.20 in 10 innings, including two centuries. From there, Rahul continued his good run for India against Australia A in the second unofficial Test in Lucknow, scoring an unbeaten 176 in the second innings.
He has been in the zone for a while now and has ensured making the most of his good form, but he must keep going from here on. Rahul has wasted most of his Test years by being inconsistent, but he must make the most of this phase now.
He is already 33 and will start showing signs of regression in a couple of years, so he must cash in and look to make big scores almost every time. He may still fall short of the lofty expectations, but at the very least, he can aim to push his average closer to 40.
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