'Few batsmen have a record where their initial 8-10 centuries are away from home': Inzamam hails 'rare' batsman KL Rahul

KL Rahul's century on the opening day of the Lord's Test won him plenty of plaudits from several former cricketers, including Pakistan great Inzamam-Ul Haq, who was simply awed by India opener's innings of 129 in the first innings against England. Rahul peeled off his sixth Test century and the fifth overseas, with his century being his third consecutive 50-plus scores in Test matches in England.

In 2018, Rahul scored 149 in the fifth Test at the Oval, followed by 84 in the first innings of the Nottingham Test before notching up his second ton in England. Among other traits, what impressed Inzamam the most was Rahul's penchant to score more centuries in overseas conditions.

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"If we talk about KL Rahul, five of his six Test centuries have come away from home. This is second in England and he has scored a century in Australia as well. Very rarely do we see batsmen with such performances. Very few batsmen have such a record where their initial 8-10 centuries are away from home," Inzamam said on his YouTube channel.

"You might have seen plenty of players with away centuries, but usually they score their first set of hundreds at home, gain experience and then score away. However, KL Rahul's system is the opposite."

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Inzamam lauded Rahul for his innings of 84 at Trent Bridge, which was instrumental in handing India a first-innings lead of 95. There, Rahul had added 97 runs with Rohit Sharma for the first wicket before partnering Ravindra Jadeja in another valuable 60-run stand.

"The confidence with which he is playing is great to watch. Even in the first Test, where he scored 84, it was more crucial than anyone else. He helped India gain the lead and played a huge role. So huge congratulations to KL Rahul," added Inzamam.