Rahul Regrets Pant's Costly Run-Out Before Lunch, Shifting Momentum in Lord's Test

KL Rahul expressed his disappointment following Rishabh Pant's untimely dismissal on the third day of the Lord's Test. The incident, a run-out just before lunch, disrupted India's momentum as they sought to gain an advantage.

Pant was run out for 74 while trying to put Rahul back on strike © Getty

India began the day trailing England by 242 runs in the first innings. A promising 141-run partnership between Rahul and Pant had narrowed the deficit to 140. However, disaster struck in the final over before lunch when Pant was run out for 74 in an attempt to get Rahul back on strike, who was nearing his century.

Rahul recounted their conversation, stating, "I told him that I will get my hundred if possible before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there's a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately I hit straight to the fielder."

He continued, "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."

Although Rahul achieved his century after lunch, he was dismissed shortly after reaching the milestone. This contributed to India's slide to 254 for 5. These self-inflicted wounds hampered India's efforts to establish a significant lead, requiring a strong performance from Ravindra Jadeja to level the scores with England's first innings total. The pitch, exhibiting inconsistent bounce, further amplified the impact of these costly errors.

"Of course there's a little bit of disappointment because till just before tea time we were in a really good position," Rahul commented. "Me and Rishabh had that long partnership and then we both got out... he got out just before lunch and I got out just after lunch. That wasn't ideal. You had set batters in the top five who had gotten off to starts, so ideally you want one of them or both to go on and get a big score, that's how you get ahead in a Test match."

On a positive note, Rahul has displayed remarkable consistency throughout the series, building upon his century in Leeds and half-century in Birmingham. He attributes his success to specialized mental exercises, similar to reaction-time training utilized by Formula 1 drivers.

"In the last year or so, I've worked on a few mental drills. I spent a bit of time with an expert who helped me with improving my reaction time. These are mental games that help you get better with reaction time and things like that," Rahul explained.

He elaborated, "I think a lot of other sports use it... I've seen this in Formula 1 quite a lot. I picked this up from one of the guys I worked with in Salzburg. I'm closely associated with Red Bull, so I had the opportunity to go there and work with some of the coaches. They work with elite Formula 1 guys and other adventure sports people who require a lot of this mental side of the game."

Rahul concluded, "So I've worked on that and I guess that's the only thing that's been different in the last year or so. I've always enjoyed batting long periods of time, even when I was growing up. I always enjoyed batting long hours and I could focus for long hours. I think a bit of that and a bit of this has just helped me in the last few years."