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Former India's star batter and World Cup-winner Robin Uthappa has offered his perspective on the recent discussion surrounding KL Rahul's century in Lord's Test against England. Uthappa questioned Rahul's approach of scoring his hundred just before the lunch break. Rahul had scored a magnificent century, adding his name to the prestigious honours board at the iconic venue. Since stepping back into the opener's role following Rohit Sharma's retirement, the experienced batsman has made an immediate impact, already notching two centuries in the current series.
Robin Uthappa on KL Rahul's Lord's century
Rahul has adopted a role of anchoring the innings, providing crucial stability and allowing the rest of the batting lineup the freedom to play their natural, aggressive game. However, his approach during his century innings at Lord's drew criticism, with some suggesting he prioritized reaching the milestone before lunch, a decision that reportedly contributed to Rishabh Pant's dismissal right before the interval.
Uthappa specifically questioned Rahul's approach, suggesting that someone should inquire about the thought process behind his decision-making, particularly concerning the timing of his century in relation to the impending lunch break.
"Did anyone ask him why he deemed getting his 100 important before the lunch break? There must have been a reason. Why was that a thought? Why was that deeply considered? If someone asked him why, we would have gotten to the bottom of this whole thing about milestones," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
Robin Uthappa elaborated on the situation, noting that India held a strong position in the game heading into the lunch interval, with both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant well-set at the crease. Uthappa suggested that the pair might have collectively decided to accelerate the scoring rate during that particular phase. Rahul likely recognised an opportunity to achieve his century before the break, potentially strategising for a more aggressive approach in the subsequent session, with Pant playing a supportive role in this endeavor.
According to Uthappa's analysis, this approach was not primarily driven by the pursuit of individual milestones. Instead, he posited that it was a tactical decision aimed at demoralizing the English team and seizing complete control of the match. Uthappa believes this decision was rooted in a strong sense of match awareness rather than a desire for personal glory.
"I reckon the communication between Rahul and Pant would have been you know what, I think we need to take the attack on, we both are set. If I can get my 100 before lunch, then we can take the attack to them immediately after, and then you can hold fort (Rishabh) while I take the attack on and lets get these guys out of the game completely. That perhaps was the thought process," he added.
India ended up losing the match by 22 runs which left them trailing 1-2 in the -match series with two matches to spare. India are in a do-or-die situation to win the fourth Test which is slated to start from July 23 in Manchester.
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