Opening batter KL Rahul looked fantastic in the second innings of England’s first Test against India at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. With a mere 6-run lead after both teams batted once, India required little more than a strong effort in the second innings to set a massive target for the Englishmen and give plenty of room for the spinners later.

Rahul performed exactly what was required of him, especially after Yashasvi Jaiswal left so early. The Karnataka batter formed a solid combination with Sai Sudharsan, stabilising the ship during the last session of Day 3. After Sudharsan and even skipper Shubman Gill left in quick succession, Rahul took on the responsibility of ensuring that the game ran smoothly as he joined with No. 5 batter Rishabh Pant.

Rahul’s magnificent 195-run stand with Rishabh Pant enabled India to set a target of 371 for The Three Lions. The ace hitter led India’s scoring with 137 from 247 deliveries. Rahul, who played a couple of tour games before beginning the five-match series with the senior side, emphasised the importance of arriving early in the United Kingdom and becoming accustomed to cold and windy weather as part of his preparation for the one-and-a-half-month trip.

“It’s difficult to switch between formats, especially in such a short timeframe. But that’s why I arrived early. There is a potential for me to play in the India A match against the England Lions. And I felt like that was better preparation for me to be in the middle, and if I had some time in the middle, it would be really beneficial to bat against the Duke’s ball, get acclimated to the cold and windy circumstances, and spend some time leaving a few balls.

“It was just about regaining the speed of playing Test cricket. So that really helped me come here early and adjust to the conditions, get that tempo right, and feel comfortable wearing the whites again while getting used to seeing the red ball coming at me. “So that really helped in terms of preparation,” Rahul told Sony Sports in an interview with Deep Das Gupta.

Coming here early really helped me: KL Rahul

Before this series, the Mangalore-born has been to England twice and scored hundreds on both the previous tours. But since each tour offers a different challenge and the conditions do tend to change more often than not in the English summer, the senior batter thought it was important for him to come ahead of the team’s supposed arrival, the results of which are evident.

“I’ve been here before. I’ve played a few Test series here. So I knew what to expect. But again, every series is different this time. The bowlers are different. The conditions are different. So yeah, it was just about switching on and trying to do the simple things right and coming here early really helped,” he added.