Statement Century

Karnataka batter Rahul negates challenging conditions on Day 4 to score ninth Test ton of his career, England need another 350 runs for win on final day

- FIROZ MIRZA @Chennai

YASHASVI Jaiswal, one of the three centurions in the first innings, departed in a hurry on Day Three. Shubman Gill, another of the centurions, was castled early doors on Monday. This sort of amped up the importance of KL Rahul, already the most experienced visiting batter on this tour, even more. If the visitors had visions of a stiff target, the opener was going to be a key man, especially with the clouds hovering in the background.

The overcast and cooler conditions were not making life easy for Indian batters. As Rishabh Pant decided to play in his usual style, the 33-year-old Karnataka batter had an added responsibility of not only lending words of wisdom to his batting partner but also seeing off the first hour and a half to ensure India wouldn't end with a half-baked score.

A couple of deliveries from the England captain Ben Stokes, who had scalped four wickets in the first innings, had already reared up to hit Rahul on his top hand. Brydon Carse was also moving the ball around sharply while Chris Woakes was angling away from wide of the crease. Rahul, however, stayed disciplined.

As he did against England Lions while hitting a ton in the practice match, he played late keeping the bat close to the body, meeting the ball under the eye and not rushing into the stroke. No matter how much effort a batter puts, it's still not easy to survive in English conditions but Rahul managed to hang on. The innings was definitely not flawless as he got a reprieve when Harry Brook dropped an easy chance at gully off Josh Tongue. The right-hand batter was on 55 then. But again, one needs luck to create history and Rahul deserved it given all the hard work he did on the field.