KL Rahul, the opener for Team India, has been playing really well in the current Test series in England. With 511 runs in eight innings at an average of 63.87, two tons, and two fifties, he is presently the series’ second-leading scorer.
The 33-year-old scored 42 and 137 in Leeds to start the series, and then 2 and 55 in Birmingham for the second Test. Rahul provided 100 and 39 runs at Lord’s even though the visitors lost by 22 runs. As Team India drew the match, the right-handed batter struck 46 and 90 in the just finished Manchester Test.
Rahul is one of the top five Asian openers with the most runs in Test matches in England, and he has an outstanding record in red-ball cricket. We examine the distinguished list of the top five Asian openers with the highest runs in Test matches in England following his incredible performance.
1. Sunil Gavaskar (1,152)
The Asian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, holds the Test match records in England of scoring the most number of runs for an opener. The Little Master scored 1152 runs off an average 41.14 in 15 games (28 innings) with 2 hundreds and 8 fifties.
India almost gave chase to 438 scored in the fourth innings of a Test match played in 1979 at The Oval with Gavaskar scoring 221 not out off 443 balls in that Test match. The former India opener also played a 101 at 251 in the first inning during the 1974 Manchester Test. In 1979 he made four of his eight fifties, two of them in 1971, one in 1974 and another in 1986.
2. KL Rahul (1,108)
KL Rahul is one of just two Asian openers to score over 1,000 runs in Tests in England. He has amassed 1,108 runs at an average of 46.16 in 12 games (24 innings), including four tons and three half-centuries.
In the second innings of the 2018 Oval Test, which England won by 118 runs, Rahul scored 149 from 224 balls. For his 129 from 250 balls in the opening innings of the 2021 Oval Test, he was named Player of the Match. at the current series, Rahul has amassed two tons: 100 from 177 balls at Lord’s and 137 off 247 balls at Leeds.
3. Vijay Merchant (527)
Indian Vijay Merchant, a legendary figure, is a third in the list of the highest amount of runs by the Asian openers in the Test matches in England. He scored 527 runs at an astonishing average of 47.90 with 2 hundreds and 2 half a century in 6 matches (11 innings).
During the first innings of the 1946 Oval Test, which ended in a draw, Merchant scored 128 in 315 minutes in a team total of 129 against a first-innings record of 576. Also, against Manchester in 1936, he made 114 runs off 255 minutes. Further, at The Oval, in August 1936, Merchant scored 52 in the first innings and in July 1946, he scored 78 in Manchester.
4. Sadiq Mohammad (522)
Sadiq Mohammad, a former hitter for Pakistan, opened the scoring in England with 522 runs in nine Test matches. Using three half-centuries, he averaged 34.80 in 15 innings. In the first innings of the 1978 Leeds Test, Sadiq was bowled for 97 off 282 balls, almost missing out on a century in England.
The former Pakistani opener too hit 91 off 220 in the second innings of that match which England won by 25 runs in the 1971 Leeds Test. Later, Sadiq made 79 runs off 123 in the 2 nd innings of the Birmingham Test in 1978. England defeated this match by a massive number of runs and innings with a score of 57.
5. Rohit Sharma (490)
The opening by Rohit Sharma, the former Indian captain, gave him 490 runs in six Test matches in England. He made one hundred and two half centuries with an average of 44.54 in twelve innings. At the same series, Rohit scored 127 (his highest) at The Oval, 59 at Leeds and 83 at Lord in August 2021.
Aamer Sohail, who was a Pakistani batsman generated the initial score in England by 490 runs. The runs he made during the seven Test games were 150 with an average of 49. Like Rohit, he also played a dozen innings during which he scored his highest 205 in July 1992 at Manchester.
