Leeds, June 23 (IANS) Former England opener Nick Knight lauded KL Rahul’s gritty batting in India’s second innings of the Headingley Test, saying the right-handed wicket-keeper batter’s style and technique are “tailor-made for English conditions”.

After England’s innings ended at 465 runs on day three, leaving India with a narrow six-run lead, Rahul got India’s second innings underway with great watchfulness before unleashing effortless elegance in his seven boundaries to be unbeaten on 47 as India extended their lead to 96 runs after reaching 90/2 in 23.5 overs at the close of play.

Rahul was all class in his on-drive and cover-drive off Brydan Carse, before square-driving Josh Tongue and pulling Shoaib Bashir for boundaries.

“I just love watching KL Rahul bat. He’s one of my favourite players to watch – such elegance, such control. I genuinely believe his style and technique are tailor-made for English conditions. He gets into a solid stride, really gets that front foot close to the pitch of the ball, which helps him cover any lateral movement – something that’s critical here in England,” Knight said on JioHotstar.

“His balance today was outstanding. I noticed England tried to go a little fuller to him, maybe in an attempt to draw out the bottom hand and make him play through mid-wicket. But when they hit that in-between length, he was just too good – so much control, composure, and time. And overall, that partnership at the top was just excellent. Set the tone beautifully for India,” he added.

After India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) cheaply, Rahul found support in Sai Sudharsan, whose soft hands got him two early boundaries to get his Test runs tally going, and the duo kept the scoreboard moving.

But three overs before stumps, Sudharsan clipped an inswinger from Ben Stokes to midwicket, who took the catch with ease, dismissing him for 30. Rahul and skipper Gill then ensured there were no more fall of wickets before the stumps.

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar also hailed Rahul’s near-flawless innings as “perfection in motion” while praising Sudharsan’s technique.

“We’ve seen KL Rahul play many good innings over the years, but I have to say – that knock was very close to perfection. Honestly, he didn’t put a foot wrong. There were a couple of cover drives in particular that were absolute 10 out of 10 – even the harshest of critics would struggle to find a flaw. It was perfection in motion. There’s a lot of responsibility on KL Rahul, and he’s carrying it superbly. Touch wood, he’s looking in excellent rhythm.

“As for Sai Sudharsan, it was good to see him get some runs under his belt. He’ll be disappointed not to kick-on because, as a batter, once you cross 30, you feel like you’ve assessed the attack and done the hard work. But that’s where he’s unique – very old-school in his approach. He plays the ball late, very still at the crease, no exaggerated trigger movement – just classic technique. That short-arm jab, the cover drive, even the straight drive… textbook stuff.”

With Gill unbeaten on six and Rahul at 47 not out, India will be aiming to get more runs on day four after rain forced an early end to day three’s proceedings.

–IANS

bc/ab