Rahul scored an unbeaten 127 at the ongoing second Test between India and England and joined the list of Indian cricketers to score a century at Lord's Cricket Ground
Ajinkya Rahane. Pic/ AFP; KL Rahul. Pic/ AP, PTI
The talented opening batsman KL Rahul scored one of the most technically accomplished and timely hundreds after the gifted Rohit Sharma showcased elegance, putting India in a comfortable 276 for 3 against England on the opening day of the second Test on Thursday.
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Rahul scored an unbeaten 127 and joined the list of Indian cricketers to score a century at Lord's Cricket Ground.
Prior to this, KL Rahul has scored five Test hundreds but he would certainly cherish this one purely on the basis of how he planned and executed this innings of precision and high calibre.
Vinoo Mankad who was the first Indian to grace the Lord's Honours Boards after he scored 184 runs in the second innings of the 1952 England-India Series, having added 72 to the scoreboard and claiming five wickets in the first. Mankad, incidentally, had been co-opted to the Indian team from the Lancashire League club team of Haslingden.
As many as 133 Test centuries have been scored at Lord's since Allan Gibson scored the first in 1884. After Mankad, it was only in 1979 that Gundappa Vishwanath (113) and Dilip Vengsarkar (103) scored centuries in the second innings, thereby saving India, which had been bundled out for 96 in the first, the ignominy of defeat.
Vengsarkar went on to make two more centuries at Lord's -- 157 in 1982 and 126 not out in 1986. He was followed by Ravi Shastri (100) and Mohammed Azharuddin (121) in 1990, Sourav Ganguly (131) in 1996, Ajit Agarkar (109 n.o.) in 2002, Rahul Dravid (103 n.o.) in 2011 and Ajinkya Rahane (103) in 2014. Seven years lapsed before Rahul's unbeaten 127 ended the dry spell for Indian centurions.
Here's a look at the list of hundreds scored by Indian cricketers at Lord's
1- Vinoo Mankad - 184
2 - Gundappa Vishwanath - 113
3 - Dilip Vengsarkar - 103
4 - Dilip Vengsarkar - 157
5 - Dilip Vengsarkar - 126*
6 - Ravi Shastri - 100
7 - Mohammed Azharuddin - 121
8 - Sourav Ganguly - 131
9 - Ajit Agarkar - 109*
10 - Rahul Dravid - 103*
11 - Ajinkya Rahane - 103
12 - KL Rahul - 127* (match ongoing)
Inputs from Agencies