Follow UsAt 58/4, the Lord’s Test is as balanced as it could be, as both India and England have a glorious chance to make it 2-1 in the series. The equation is quite simple: England need to take six more wickets, and India need to score 135 runs to win the Lord’s Test.
Much of India’s hopes will be pinned on KL Rahul, who has spent quite a bit of time on the pitch, scoring 33 off 47 balls. While he got a reprieve early on, when Chris Woakes dropped an easy caught and bowled chance, he was later flawless in the innings.
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble insisted that Rahul will be India’s main man if they are to walk away from Lord’s with a 2-1 lead in the series.
“KL Rahul is going to be the main man (for India). If India are to go past this total tomorrow, he needs to be there till the end — not just give India a good start,” Kumble told JioHotstar. “This is going to be a very important knock. If India have to cross the line, KL Rahul will have to play a major role.”
“Early on, I thought he looked a bit like Joe Root, reaching out to the ball, and that’s when there was a chance offered to Chris Woakes. He was lucky to be dropped. But from that moment on, he started waiting for the ball to come onto him, and once he did that, he looked the part — just like he did in the first innings,” said Kumble.
There’s enough time for both teams to get a result off the game, and Kumble called it a perfect ‘seesaw clash’.
“(There will be) No draw, that’s for sure. That was a possibility, I guess, after Day 3 — but certainly not anymore. There’s been a lot of drama, and what this Test match has shown is that both teams have, at different points, let go and then pulled it back. It’s been a proper seesaw,” he added.
But ultimately, Kumble reckoned that the partnership between Rahul, who is well set and Rishabh Pant, who is aggressive, will be crucial for India.
“India had a great chance — they did really well to restrict England to 192 and then got to 41 for 1. I thought Yashasvi Jaiswal played a very poor shot early in his innings, but Karun Nair and KL Rahul batted well to get to that 41. Then once Karun got out and Shubman Gill followed, it’s now slightly tilted back in England’s favour. India will need a massive partnership from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant tomorrow.”