Colombo, Aug 20: KL Rahul scored his second Test ton to help India build a strong platform on Thursday in second Test at P Sara Oval in Colombo. India ended the day at 319/6.
Team India did not have the best of starts as they lost Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane early in the inning but Rahul along with skipper Virat Kohli shared a solid 163-run stand for the third wicket to put India in a control of the things.
Things could have turned from bad to worse for India had Jehan Mubarak held onto a chance from Rahul who was on 11 at that time. Rahul continued to look scratchy for the remainder of the session as well, but never offered a clear-cut chance again. At lunch, Rahul was on 39.
But from the second session onwards Rahul showed composure and batted maturely to show his class and help India build on along with Kohli. The youngster from Karnataka did not disappoint and reached his first Test fifty off 94 balls.
Rahul was well in his groove as he hit some delightful boundaries and started dominating Sri Lankan bowlers. The best part of Rahul innings was that he scored at a pretty decent rate and never allowed any bowler to dominate him.
Despite Kohli falling at the other end, Rahul never lost focus and soon brought fifty-run stand along with Rohit Sharma and made sure Indian innings get going.
After a twin failure in the first Test - Rahul looked confident out there with a better footwork and hand-eye coordination. It took him 180 deliveries to reach the milestone that included 12 boundaries and a six.
But soon after scoring ton, Rahul lost his concentration and threw away his wicket to Chameera at 108. Rahul was never in position to play the pull as he tried to fetch it from outside off, but only managed a top-edge. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant inning by the youngster.
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