India A ke do bade ballebaaz, Yashasvi Jaiswal aur Abhimanyu Easwaran, jaldi hi pavilion laut gaye jab England Lions ke captain James Rew ne toss jeetkar pehle bowling ka faisla kiya. Jaiswal ne sirf 17 run banaye aur Easwaran 11 run par LBW ho gaye, jab Chris Woakes ne apne shandaar spell se India A ke top order ko hila diya. Ye woh pal tha jab lag raha tha ki India A ka batting order shayad teesre din bhi struggle karega, jaise ki unhone Australia ke khilaaf Border-Gavaskar Trophy ke pehle Test mein kiya tha, jab Perth mein unki batting line-up 150 run par dher ho gayi thi.
Lekin yahan se KL Rahul ne apni chamak dikhayi. Unhone apne disciplined approach ke saath innings ko sambhala aur ek shandaar shatak jada. Ye koi nayi baat nahi thi – Rahul ne 2021 ke England tour mein bhi Lord’s ke iconic ground par ek shatak lagaya tha, jismein unhone 129 run banaye aur Player-of-the-Match ka award jeeta. Is baar bhi, Northampton ke County Ground par, Rahul ne 151 balls mein apna shatak poora kiya, jismein 13 chauthe aur ek chhakka shamil tha. Unki yeh innings unki wahi purani kabiliyat ki yaad dilati hai – jab woh pressure mein bhi shant rehkar apne shots ke saath bowlers par dabav banate hain. Jaise jaise din chadha aur suraj nikla, Rahul ke shots bhi khul gaye. Unhone Karun Nair ke saath 86 run ki partnership banayi, jinhone 40 run ka yogdaan diya, aur phir Dhruv Jurel ke saath bhi ek shandaar 52 run ki partnership ki, jisse India A ne din ke ant tak 319/7 ka score khada kiya.
Rahul ka yeh shatak unke liye ek bada statement tha. Australia tour ke baad, jahan unhone 255 run banaye the, lekin phir bhi unki consistency par sawaal uth rahe the, unhone ek baar phir dikhaya ki woh bade mauke par bade run bana sakte hain. Unki yeh kabiliyat unhe India ke liye ek dependable opener banati hai, khaas kar jab Rohit Sharma aur Virat Kohli jaisi badi hastiyon ki kami mehsoos ho rahi hai. Ek X post mein @ImTanujSingh ne bhi unki taareef ki, jahan unhone likha, “KL Rahul, Mr Dependable in Overseas for India,” aur unke SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) mein shandaar performances ki list di, jaise 149 at The Oval aur 123 at Centurion. Yeh shatak na sirf unki form ko dikhata hai, balki unki mental strength ko bhi ujagar karta hai, jo ek Test batsman ke liye sabse badi baat hai.
Lekin, kahani yahin khatam nahi hoti. Rahul ke shatak ke bawajood, India A ke liye challenges abhi baaki hain. Din ke ant mein barish ne khel rok diya, aur India A 285/6 par ruk gaya. England Lions ke bowlers, khaas kar Chris Woakes, jinhone 3 wickets liye, abhi bhi khatarnak dikh rahe hain. Yeh yaad rakhna zaroori hai ki pehle unofficial Test mein bhi, jab Karun Nair ne 186 run banaye the, match draw par khatam hua tha kyunki pitch flat thi. Agar India A ko yeh match jeetna hai, toh Rahul ke saath saath Nitish Kumar Reddy aur Tanush Kotian jaise naye khiladiyon ko bhi apna josh dikhana hoga. Warna, ye shandaar shuruaat bhi ek aur draw ki taraf badh sakti hai, jo India ke liye Test series se pehle ek chhota sa jhatka ho sakta hai.
