India could not have asked for a better start to their Test series against England. At Headingley, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul displayed patience and application to blunt England’s new-ball threat.
Jaiswal showed maturity beyond his years. Rahul, back in the opening role, looked assured from the outset. Together, they frustrated England’s quicks.
The pair soaked up pressure for around 25 overs. Their partnership lasted for 91 runs and was broken by Brydon Carse, who finally got the better of KL Rahul’s patience as he nicked one to Joe Root at the first slip.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul Set New Record in HeadingleyÂ
With this 91-run stand, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul have now etched their names in the record books, going past all previous Indian opening pairs at Headingley. Here's how the top five list looks now:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul - 91 runs
Sunil Gavaskar, Kris Srikkanth - 64 runs
Farokh Engineer, Ramesh Saxena - 39 runs
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma - 34 runs
DK Gaekwad, Pankaj Roy - 18 runs
Considering India’s difficult history at Headingley, a venue where they have not won a Test since 2002, this is a great start, especially for an opening pair that has not batted much together.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill Puts India in Driving Seat
After Rahul’s dismissal, debutant Sai Sudharsan also fell for a duck. However, captain Shubman Gill and Jaiswal brought India back in the driving seat.
Gill has already scored a quick-fire fifty, while Jaiswal is moving towards a century. At the time of writing, India’s score reads 183/2 with Jaiswal and Gill batting on 79 and 52 runs respectively.
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