KL Rahul, who recently scored a century and became the first Asian opener to achieve the feat of three centuries in England, is expecting a hard-fought contest on the final day of the match. Speaking after Day 4, he highlighted the changing nature of the pitch and predicted a tough challenge from the English side.
“I think the first two days, being as hot as it was, the pitch has taken a bit of beating. The crack seems like it’s opening up. There’s a bit of rough there, and the wicket is really dry. Mostly, it’s like a subcontinent wicket on day five,” Rahul said. He also emphasized the need for India to counter England’s aggressive approach. “Day five wicket won’t be as easy, but knowing how England play and their style of cricket, they’re going to come hard and try and score boundaries and try and score runs as quickly as possible. We need to keep that in the back of our heads and try and bowl as straight as we can. Try and be patient and really not give them those boundaries, make them earn their runs. It should be a very interesting day,” he added.
Reflecting on the morning session, Rahul noted, “It was very different this morning. It almost felt like it was the first time we were actually in English conditions. The ball was seeming around, it was overcast. There was a bit happening from the wicket. The first couple of days when we batted, there wasn’t much. There was a bit of swing in the air, but nothing off the pitch. But this morning it was a really good spell.”