[WATCH] ENG vs IND 2025: KL Rahul admits eye on century led to Rishabh Pant’s run-out

KL Rahul, Indian opener, revealed the miscommunication with Rishabh Pant right before lunch on Day 3 of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy third Test at Lord’s. Although India managed to match England’s first-innings total of 387, Pant’s run-out for 74 proved to be a turning point in the match.

Rahul accepted full responsibility for the dismissal, saying that his haste to bring up a century before the lunch break resulted in an unfortunate mix-up. India began the day losing by 242 runs, but a 141-run stand between Rahul and Pant dragged them back into the game.

With Rahul at 98 and only one over left in the session, the duo considered targeting Shoaib Bashir to assist him hit his century.

However, in an attempt to rotate strike swiftly and give KL Rahul an opportunity, Pant was caught short of his crease after a misjudged single.

“There was a talk a few overs before. I promised Pant that if possible, I’d grab my hundred before lunch. And with Bashir bowling the last over before lunch, I believed I had a fantastic chance, but, unfortunately, I hit straight to the fielder,” Rahul remarked at the end of Day 3.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ICC (@icc)

The delivery in question was short and wide, one that Rahul later admitted he could have put away for a boundary. However, when the ball failed to reach the rope, Pant attempted to rotate the strike to give Rahul another chance at his century. Instead, the moment backfired, as Stokes produced a sharp piece of fielding from cover point to run Pant out just before the lunch interval.

“It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened: a run-out at that stage really changed the momentum. It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that,” Rahul added.

With the series level at 1-1, India have arguably shot themselves in the foot by committing untimely errors, missing key opportunities to seize control. Rahul acknowledged that the Indian batters, including himself, failed to capitalise on their starts, an oversight that ultimately cost the visitors a chance to establish dominance at Lord’s.

“Of course, there’s a little bit of disappointment because till just before tea time, we were in a really good position. Obviously, me and Rishabh got that long partnership and then we both got out [in quick succession] – he got out just before lunch and I got out just after lunch. That wasn’t ideal, so you had set batters in the top five who had got off to starts, so ideally you want one of them or both to go on and get a big score and that’s how you get ahead in a Test match,” Rahul said.

Rahul went on to complete his 10th Test century in the post-lunch session, becoming only the second Indian after Dilip Vengsarkar to score multiple hundreds at Lord’s. However, the celebration was short-lived, as just two balls later, he edged Bashir to slip and was dismissed for exactly 100.