Indian opener KL Rahul joined an elite list when he reached the half-century mark against Sri Lanka on the first day of the second Test match at Colombo. This was Rahul's sixth consecutive knock of fifty plus in Test cricket which helped him equal the mark set by legendary bastmen Gundappa Viswanath and Rahul Dravid.
KL Rahul's feat means he got ahead of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar and Nvjot Sidhu, who all scored five straight half-centuries in their respective Test careers.
Enroute to India's 101 for the loss of one wicket, Rahul notched up his eighth Test fifty, thus thumping back his dominance in the longer format of the game. This was also his sixth consecutive Test fifty with the last five scores standing as – 51 n.o, 60, 67, 51, 90
KL Rahul who missed the first Test due to a viral fever, had had a successful outing in the home series against Australia where he scored five consecutive half-centuries and has taken it forward from there.
The Karnataka batsman had scores of 90, 51, 67, 60 and 51* against the Aussies, a remarkable achievement which played a pivotal role in India coming back from a game down to win the all important home series against Steven Smith's men.
KL Rahul, who also has four Test centuries to his name, was often criticised early in his Test career for his inconsistency has definitely turned a new leaf in what is still a very young and promising Test career.
KL Rahul is now India's first choice opener along with Murali Vijay, who has missed out on this series as he us still recovering from a wrist injury. The Indian opener has a chance to equal the world record of getting a fifty plus score in seven successive innings under his belt when he comes out to bat in the second innings of the match.
West Indians Everton Weekes and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, Australia Cris Rogers and Zimbabwean Andy Flower are the other cricketers to have scored seven half-centuries in a row
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