KL Rahul confident India can dismiss England on final day at Headingley

India opener KL Rahul says the visitors will do everything to give themselves the “best chance” of bowling England out and securing a 1-0 lead in the series as the final day of the first Test resumes.

 

Following India’s declaration, England faced a challenging target of 371 on day four, with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett erasing 21 runs early on. 

  KL Rahul ready for a 'blockbuster' tomorrow

 

“This is shaping up for a blockbuster finish tomorrow. England have openly said they want to go for it, and that gives us the chance to take 10 wickets,” said Rahul. He, along with Rishabh Pant, stabilized India’s innings with a 195-run fourth-wicket partnership after the loss of skipper Shubman Gill early in the session. Rahul scored 137 while Pant blazed 118.

 

“Today’s pitch was tricky, and tomorrow it may break up even more. We want to give ourselves the best chance to bowl them out,” Rahul told the press after stumps. He added that an extra 40 runs would have put India in a stronger position, but admitted decisions around overs and targets at tea were debated. 

  India's lower order dissapointing again

 

India stumbled from 333/5 to 364, losing three lower-order batters for ducks, and contributions from Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur were minimal.

 

Rahul praised Pant’s batting flair: “Watching him is like watching art—you admire his audacious strokeplay. He plays in a style of his own; you just let Pant be Pant.”

 

England seamer Josh Tongue, who cleaned up India’s tail with figures of 3/72, said the first hour of day five would be crucial. “The message is clear: we’re going for it. Hopefully we won’t need to bat out for a draw. We’ll assess at lunch and proceed from there.”