London, July 12 Legendary spinner Anil Kumble heaped heavy praise on opener KL Rahul for his “clinical approach” against the Jofra Archer-led pace attack in the third Test at Lord’s.
Rahul negated the early burst from comeback man Archer and stood tall against any challenge to complete his 19th Test half-century and his second of the tour following a brilliant 137 in Leeds.
“It was fantastic. A typical KL Rahul innings where he had to grind it out. It was a fiery spell from Jofra Archer – especially that first spell where he clocked over 150 km/h, with steep bounce and a bit of swing early on. KL countered all of that brilliantly. He was clinical in his approach and looked in control. It was a very disciplined and mature knock, and I’m sure he’ll be satisfied with how he played,” Kumble said on JioHotstar ‘Match Centre Live’.
Former England batter Jonathan Trott also lauded Rahul’s calculated knock on challenging conditions.
“I don’t think you can go out there and dictate terms to the bowlers on this pitch. You have to be watchful – it’s very much a new-ball wicket. KL was excellent in nullifying that early threat and played very straight. Just like Shubman Gill did in the second Test – using a straight bat, being patient when the ball’s on the stumps, and capitalising on the bad balls. That’s going to be key tomorrow – to keep pressure on the English side,” he said.
India lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) early on off Archer in his first over. Rahul and Karun Nair were then involved in a 61-run partnership before Ben Stokes removed the latter for 40.
India captain Shubman Gill, who is in sublime touch in the series, was bagged cheaply by Chris Woakes on 16 to put pressure on India.
However, Rishabh Pant and Rahul made sure that they didn’t lose any further wickets till stumps to reach 145/3 in 43 overs. India still trail by 242 runs after Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul bundled out England for 387.
Kumble reflected on Nair’s elegant knock and unfortunate dismissal and said, “He’s had a solid series overall, except for that one innings. In his comeback match, he’s consistently got starts – 20s, 30s – and today he got into the 40s. He survived Archer’s harsh early spell and began looking comfortable. Some of his cover drives were beautiful to watch. But it was one of those dismissals – he edged a good delivery, and Joe Root took a stunning low catch. That’s not easy, especially with the slope at Lord’s.
“I think it will be even. I know India will probably feel that they gave about 50 runs extra to England. But having said that, with the early dismissal of Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, India will be comfortable at 145 for 3. And the best part is Rishabh Pant getting the opportunity to bat at some point. Slightly earlier in the day, there was a bit of a concern about Pant – whether he’d be able to bat. But he was pretty comfortable other than that one instance where he got hit off the toe-end, and that hurt his hand. Otherwise, he looked quite at ease. I thought KL Rahul and Pant ensured that India ended the day on a positive note, even though Pant came in a bit later,” he added.
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