When KL Rahul went back and took runs off the first ball of Moeen Ali in the 30th over of India’s first innings, he brought up a milestone which India will not be too proud off. Rahul brought up the century partnership for India’s opening pair of Rahul and Parthiv Patel. It was the first time in 32 innings that India’s openers had put up a century stand.
While it reflected on how India’s openers have not fared up to expectations in the last year or two, this partnership was testament to the talent both Rahul and Patel possess. Resuming at 60/0, the two were unhurried and hardly played a false stroke. Rahul had hobbled yesterday but he looked untroubled in the morning, stepping out and hammering two sixes in the first five overs of the day. He went past fifty and looked set for a big one at lunch, on 89.
Patel, at the other end, was not his usual swashbuckling self, despite scoring at a strike rate of over 55. His runs mostly came out of patience; Patel got the bowlers to bowl to his strengths by leaving deliveries outside off-stump and bringing out his favourite flicks and drives when the ball was closer to the stumps. He soon brought up his fifty and then got to his career-best score (71) with a heave over deep mid-wicket just before lunch. But, an attempt at repeating the shot saw his downfall as the ball scooped up for a simple catch.
Brief scores:
India 173/1 (KL Rahul 89 not out, Parthiv Patel 71; Moeen Ali 1/53) trail England 477 by 304 runs