India were 247 for 3 as Shoaib Bashir lined up to bowl the last over before lunch on Saturday. Three balls later, Rishabh Pant ran himself out in a self-destructive fashion. In the second over post the break, KL Rahul, having become only the second Indian to put his name more than once on the Lord's honours board, edged one to give Bashir his only wicket of the innings. India were 254 for 5 suddenly, having otherwise controlled the first session, scoring 103 in 22.3 overs until Pant's run out.
So how did India lose their firm hold over the match? Rahul raised his hand at the end of the day to admit that his desperation to reach the landmark before lunch "changed the momentum" of the Indian innings.
Rahul said he had told Pant of his plan to get to the century before the break, a couple of overs before lunch. When he pushed a single to sweeper cover off the first ball of Bashir's over just before lunch, Pant moaned about his senior partner wasting the opportunity to punish what he felt was a bad ball for a four. Two balls later, Pant, attempting a risky single, was run out by a brilliant pick-up-and-direct-hit from England captain Ben Stokes. Pant walked back disappointingly as he might have sensed a century himself until his inning was rudely cut short on 74.
"Not ideal," Rahul said at the media briefing. "There was a conversation a couple of overs before that: I told him [Pant] that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit straight to the fielder.
"It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted me 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."
While the series is level 1-1, India have shot themselves in the foot by committing untimely errors, which has robbed them of the opportunity to dominate. Rahul agreed that India batters, including him, wasted the opportunity to convert starts into bigger scores that could have put the visitors "ahead" at Lord's.
"Of course, there's a little bit of disappointment because till just before tea time, we were in a really good position. Obviously, me and Rishabh got that long partnership and then we both got out [in quick succession] - he got out just before lunch and I got out just after lunch. That wasn't ideal, so you had set batters in the top five who had got off to starts, so ideally you want one of them or both to go on and get a big score and that's how you get ahead in a Test match."
Personally, though, Rahul said he was happy to carry forward the form established in Leeds, where he scored 137 in the second innings after chasing a wide delivery in the first innings when he was closing in on a fifty. His 55 in the second innings in the second Test in Birmingham played a role in India raising a big target and winning in dominant fashion. At Lord's, where India won a classic in 2021, Rahul was the Player of the Match for his 129 in the first innings. Those memories surely must have spurred him on to do a repeat this time, but Rahul said he has also been working on the mental side of his game since his last visit to the venue.
He said that for the last two-odd years, he has also been working with a specialist who has helped him with "improving reaction times" by engaging in mental drills and games that top athletes involved in F1 and adventure sports practise. Rahul said he travelled to Salzburg in Austria, the base of the Red Bull team in F1, to work with the specialist who has also helped elite F1 drivers in being sharp and proactive.