KL Rahul's Test Century Comeback: A Nine-Year Journey to Triumph on Home Soil

Indian cricket star KL Rahul, renowned for his stylish play, has finally ended a nine-year drought of Test centuries on home ground, achieving this milestone during the series opener against the West Indies in Ahmedabad. Since his fiery innings of 199 against England in 2016 in Chennai, Rahul had been unable to score a Test century in India, enduring 3,213 days of waiting. This changed on Friday when he scored a determined 197-ball 100, featuring 12 fours.

Following this achievement, Rahul joined an elite group of Indian Test openers with 10 or more centuries, alongside legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Murali Vijay. Although Rahul struggled to pinpoint the exact reason for his lengthy hiatus, he suggested that adapting to India's spinning pitches, where boundaries are hard to find, was a challenge.

Rahul emphasized the importance of mindset, stating his focus over the past year has been on maintaining batting tempo and embracing singles and doubles on subcontinental tracks. This tactical shift helped him convert smaller gains into significant scores. On the same day, Dhruv Jurel and vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja also shone with centuries, helping India amass a formidable total of 448/5 and gain a 286-run lead. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)