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Kane produced another bravura centre forward’s performance in front of watching England boss Roy Hodgson who will name his squad a week on Thursday for the matches against Lithuania and Italy.
His two-goal tally took him ahead of Austin in the Premier League goalscoring charts by lifting his total to 16. His support play and his vision were superb, too.
Kane has now scored in six consecutive away games for Spurs whose victory took them to within three points of Manchester United, who sit in fourth place.
Austin did his own cause of promotion to the England squad no harm either and Hodgson will also have been impressed by the energy and endeavour of Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason.
Even though QPR mounted a spirited late comeback they were once again undone by familiar defensive failings that leave them in danger of being cut adrift.
‘I am fully aware that you can’t keep being unlucky in the Premier League,’ QPR head coach Chris Ramsey had written with great prescience in his programme notes for the game. ‘You can’t always be sorry that you’ve lost a game.’
QPR had started well, too. Zamora forced a flying save out of Lloris inside 60 seconds but referee Craig Pawson got his own afternoon off to a poor beginning by awarding a goal kick.
Spurs soon shook off their uncertainty, though, and five minutes later Kane met a cross from Walker at the near post with a glancing header and brought a brilliant point-blank save out of Green. This time, even Mr Pawson realised it was a corner.
The half sank into a stalemate until a defensive error by Walker almost allowed QPR to snatch the lead. Walker attempted a headed backpass but Austin saw it coming and intercepted it, turning it goalwards. Lloris got his hand to it and scrambled it clear.
Even though Tottenham were dominating possession and Eriksen was orchestrating play beautifully, the best chance of the half fell to QPR after half an hour. Phillips played the ball into the box and when it ran on to Austin, his left foot rising drive beat Lloris but smashed against the underside of the bar and away to safety. On the QPR bench, Ramsey held his head in his hands.
All QPR’s efforts were undone ten minutes before half time when Townsend floated a free kick into their box. None of the QPR defenders attacked the ball, Onuoha ducked under it and Kane beat Green to the ball to head it past the onrushing keeper and into the empty net.
Luck ran against the home team before the interval when Isla ran on to a clever through ball from Caulker and appeared to be brought down by Lloris. To bitter protests from QPR, Mr Pawson waved play on.
Kane showed in stoppage time at the end of the half what a fine all round player he is becoming with a fine pass out to Townsend. Townsend’s shot took an awkward deflection and Green scrambled to his right to push it out.
And Spurs began the second half in the same vein when a ferocious, whipped shot from Eriksen beat the despairing dive of Green only to rebound off the inside of the post.
QPR were trying to stay in touch now and it took some desperate defending to stop Spurs extending their lead. Kane showed great vision again to play Walker in on the right and when Green smothered his attempted cross, Eriksen followed up with a crisp volley that was blocked on the line by Austin.
QPR couldn’t hold Spurs at bay any longer though and midway through the half, Kane put the match out of their reach. He beat offside and ran to a ball from Mason before taking the ball round Green and sliding it into an empty net.
That goal sparked a frantic QPR fightback. Fifteen minutes from the end, Austin, who worked himself into the ground, crossed for Zamora. Zamora laid the ball back into the path of Sandro whose neat side-foot beat Lloris low to his left.
QPR laid siege to the Spurs goal in the dying minutes but Tottenham defended stoutly and Ramsey’s team were left to rue their only shortcomings at the back and contemplate an increasingly forlorn fight for survival.
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