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KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma ( Image Credit: Twitter)
Cricketer turned expert Salman Butt has lavished praise on India’s opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, terming them the best at the moment. India’s opening has been one of the biggest positives of this tour. The pair has batted first in three of the four games in challenging conditions and showed great grit and determination to battle it out in the middle.
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In the ongoing fourth Test, India were under a bit of pressure, having conceded a lead of 99 but both Rohit and Rahul batted with great intent and almost completely wiped off the lead before Rahul departed.
Rahul got the opportunity to open the innings mainly because of Mayank Agarwal’s concussion ahead of the first Test and the right-hander has made most of the opportunity. He played a crucial role in India’s win at Lords and scored a brilliant first inning hundred. Rohit also stroked a beautiful hundred in the second innings of the ongoing Test. Butt lauded the pair for their determination and grit to overcome some tough conditions.
"If we see the current opening pairs in Test cricket, India's pair has to be the best. The special thing about them is both are all-format players. You cannot categorize them as ODI or Test or T20 specialists. They are complete players and package with great adaptabilities. They also have good control and know when to play and leave, possess innovation, patience, overcame tough periods.
The pair so far has compiled one century and two half-century stands with a best of 126, coming in the first innings at Lords. Butt further said the duo won’t get more challenging conditions to counter against the world-class pacers.
"Batsmen won't find conditions difficult than these as James Anderson and Ollie Robinson have operated well with the dukes ball and took advantage of the overcast conditions. Robinson has hardly bowled any bad balls. He bowled one against which Rohit got out. The first delivery with the new ball was a half-tracker without pace."