'May have taken him slightly longer than expected, but...': Sanjay Manjrekar lauds KL Rahul after veteran batter saves India's day in 4th Test

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lavished praise on veteran opener KL Rahul for showing his consistency in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. KL Rahul is one of the consistent batters in the five-Test match series against England. He smashed more than 50-plus scores in all four matches of the series, with many of his knocks coming while trying to save the match for his side.

Rahul is in the form of his life as he scored 508 runs in eight innings at an average of 72.57, with two centuries and two fifties each. He is the second-highest run-getter in the series. This is his most successful Test series ever, and in the absence of legendary batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, KL has played the role of senior statesman of the team to perfection.

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Speaking on 'Match Centre Live', the JioStart expert Manjrekar said about Rahul, "People often ask whether KL Rahul matured after the exit of a few senior batters, maybe he was already mature, and was just taking on too much responsibility. What we're seeing now is consistency. It may have taken him slightly longer than expected, but he now knows how to carry his form from one innings to the next. His temperament is such that he naturally shoulders a lot of the load. You saw that when India lost two early wickets, KL Rahul was defending everything that came his way."

"Shubman Gill, on the other hand, had a slightly different approach, and eventually that tempo caught up with KL. Against this kind of bowling attack, Rahul's defensive technique stands out. These pitches have been good for batting, and KL himself acknowledged this as the best surface yet. But he's shown the mental stamina to keep going. Many of KL's innings have come while trying to save the game -- and that makes the number of balls he's faced even more significant," he added.

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As India struggled during the Manchester Test, KL Rahul is chasing his third century of the series and his fifth in England. He could become the first-ever Indian opener to have three centuries during a single series in England. He is also legendary Sunil Gavaskar (19 fifty plus scores in SENA countries) in a race to be amongst India's most successful batters in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) conditions, having registered 12 fifty-plus scores already. While batting alongside Shubman Gill on Day 4 of 4th Test, KL Rahul becomes only the second Asian batter after Gavaskar to score 500-plus runs in a series in England.