INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Kl Rahul fell just before Lunch after a well-made 42 © Getty
England struck twice late in the first session to bounce back strongly after India’s openers put on a 91-run opening stand. It tilted the balance of the game on the first morning at Headingley with the visitors heading to Lunch at 92/2.
After being put in to bat, India’s openers started with a bit of caution but were also adept at putting away anything that came in their zone. Yashasvi Jaiswal was tested with the ball moving into his pads a few times but he managed to keep it out. A couple of drives were slashed uppishly through the gully area but the nervous moments were only a few in the first hour.
The eye-catching drives instead peppered the flow of the innings. Rahul laced a couple through covers while Jaiswal creamed a few down the ground. India’s run-scoring was largely through boundaries with as many as nine coming in the first hour itself. England wasted one review against Jaiswal for an LBW appeal after Josh Tongue, the first-change bowler, struck him from round the wicket. But the angle ensured that the ball was pitching outside leg and taking it further down.
England were also guilty of overpitching often in that first hour and conceding more boundaries as a result. All of this meant that for the first time in the last seven Tests at Headingley, there wasn’t a wicket in the first ten overs of the match. But Jaiswal kept them interested with a few plays and misses off attempted cuts. As the session wore on, both batters became more confident in playing the shots. But the consistent movement meant that England’s bowlers were never far away.
Jaiswal and Rahul put on a near-perfect session for India before Rahul played one cover drive too many and ended up nicking to first slip with minutes to go for the Lunch break. Carse’s breakthrough lifted England’s spirits as debutant Sai Sudharsan walked out to accompany Jaiswal who was into the forties. But Sudharsan’s debut was a forgettable one as he nicked a delivery down the legside off Stokes to be caught behind for a duck. That double blow ensured that England pulled things back in the nick of time.
Brief Scores: India 92/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 42*, KL Rahul 42; Ben Stokes 1-20) vs England.
© Cricbuzz
