India Vs England, 3rd Test Day 3: KL Rahul 'Hungry To Score Runs' In Opener Role

KL Rahul is “hungry to score runs” as an opener for India after making another century against England in the third Test.

Rahul scored a vital 101 for India to get them to a total of 387 at Lord’s on day three, equalling England’s first innings score.

It was his second century at Lord’s and his fourth overall in England, making him the second-most prolific visiting opener in the country since 2000, only behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith, who scored five tons on English soil.

Rahul's four centuries as an opener in England since 2018 are also the most of any player from any nation, with Ben Duckett’s three hundreds the most for the hosts.

Rahul put his form down to his consistent presence at the top of the India batting order, instead of moving positions.

“It's not been easy having to bat all around that top six, it's nice to finally get a spot where I've batted a lot,” Rahul told Today at the Test.

“I've played all my junior cricket and coming into international cricket I've always batted at the top of the order, so it's a position I enjoy playing. I wanted to bat in one position, wherever it was, so I'm happy I'm performing for the team.

“I sometimes sit and think about whether things have changed, but the only answer I've come to is that I'm just getting runs now.

“My mindset has always been the same, I've always been hungry to score runs, hungry to perform. It just didn't happen, but in the last couple of years the runs have been coming and once you're performing consistently, your confidence is up and you know exactly what you need to do.

“Everything feels comfortable and I think I've found that space personally, scoring runs.”

Day three ended with some tension between England opener Zak Crawley and India duo Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj, with the visitors not happy with the batter’s tactics to run down the clock.

Rahul added: “I understand from an opening batter's point of view, it's something that happens a lot, quite a lot of theatrics at the end.”

England bowling coach Tim Southee is looking forward to how the match unfolds over the next two days, with the hosts leading by a mere two runs after an innings apiece.

“It’s pretty even. You toil away for three days, and you sit here with a two-run lead. We're looking forward to a two-day shoot-out,” said Southee.

“It was hard work for the bowlers, the energy in Ben Stokes' spell before lunch flowed on through the afternoon session.

“I think ideally you'd like a little bit more bounce, especially when playing against a team from the subcontinent. The more you hit the wicket, the more responsive it is. It's set up for a beautiful couple of days.”

Jofra Archer’s first innings back with the ball in Test cricket ended with figures of 2-52 as he took the final wicket late in the day.

Southee was pleased to see how Archer progressed through the innings and expects him to continue growing throughout the series.

“It's been a long time since Jofra's last Test match, after lunch he was touching 93-94 mph with a ball that was 70 overs old,” said Southee.

“Any long lay-off is going to be tough coming back after a long time, but he's put the work in and is only going to get better as the series goes on.

"It's an exciting time, the next two days. There's a little bit there for the bowlers, but if you can get in you can score some runs.”