KL Rahul smashed his way into the record books at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The Karnataka opener scored his 11th Test century against the West Indies on October 3. He resumed from 53 overnight and reached three figures off 190 balls brilliantly.
India crossed 200 runs easily in reply to the West Indies’ poor total of 162. Rahul’s knock was special because it broke records held by Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. He now has 10 Test centuries as an opener, more than both legends combined.
Breaking the Long Wait at Home
Rahul hadn’t scored a Test century in India for 3,211 days before this knock. That’s nearly nine years of waiting to score big on home pitches again. His last home century came way back in December 2016 against England in Chennai.
He scored 199 runs in that Chennai match, which remained his best home score. This new century ended the longest gap between home Test centuries for any Indian. Rahul looked determined to make this opportunity count from the very first ball.
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Climbing the All-Time Indian Openers List
This century puts Rahul fourth among Indian openers with the most Test hundreds ever. Only Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Murali Vijay sit above him now on that list. The 32-year-old has battled injuries and form issues to reach this point.
Rahul scored 176 runs for India A against Australia A recently, before this match. That knock showed his form was coming back nicely heading into this series.
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Perfect Timing After Rohit’s Retirement
Rohit Sharma just retired from Test cricket, which opened doors for Rahul again. The opener grabbed this chance with both hands to cement his opening spot. His innings proved he’s still got plenty left to offer Indian cricket going forward.
This comeback century silenced doubters who questioned his place in the Test team. Rahul showed class and patience throughout his innings under pressure at the crease.
