Ind vs Eng 5th test: KL Rahul devastated as he falls on threshold of 200

Chennai: The poignant picture of a distraught K.L. Rahul collapsing in a heap, crouching at the crease wit-h both his hands on the head reflected the pain of missing a milestone as the Indian opener fell just one run short of his maiden double century in Test cricket. The opener, who was the toast of the Sunday crowd after golden boy Virat Kohli’s early departure, produced an exuberant knock, stitched two century partnerships with Parthiv Patel and close friend Karun Nair, and spurred India’s fitting response to England, but the pressure of achieving a personal landmark proved to be his undoing.

Rahul thus became ninth player in the history of Test cricket to be dismissed for 199. Former India skipper Mohd Azharuddin was the only Indian in the ‘so-near-and-yet-so-far’ list until Sunday. India were 391 for four at stumps on day three with Karun (71) and M. Vijay (17) at the crease. The hosts trail by 86 runs in response to England’s 477 on a seemingly flat deck.

Rahul, who scored his fourth Test ton and first at home, said he was
gutted that he couldn’t convert it into a double. “It was a good day till I got out. I was looking to play positively, everything was going my way, but just unfortunate that the pressure of getting a double hundred got to me,” said Rahul who chased a wider delivery off leg-spinner Adil Rashid only to spoon an easy catch to cover point fielder Jose Buttler.