KL Rahul completes 1000 Test runs in England

Manchester [UK], July 23 (ANI): KL Rahul has now completed 1000 Test runs in England, becoming only the fifth Indian to do so after legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, and Virat Kohli.

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With 1575 runs, Tendulkar is in first place, followed by Dravid (1376), Gavaskar (1152), and Kohli (1096). Now, Rahul joins this elite list, marking another solid milestone in his career.

In 12 Tests in England, he has made four centuries and two fifties. His best score in England is 149.

With the series in favour of England by 2-1, India will have to play out of their skins to defy this equally competitive English unit. For that, it is important that KL absorbs all the pressure while opening the batting, makes the new ball old, and balances out his classy cover drives with some careful leaves.

India have made a confident start in the fourth Test in Manchester, with both openers showing good control and composure in the early phase of the innings.

KL has every chance to make this series his best-ever in Test statistically. His best Test series has been the 2016-17 series against Australia at home, with 393 runs in four matches and seven innings at an average of 65.50, with six fifties to his name and a best score of 90.

However, he is one of India's most dependable batters outside Asia in spite of ups and downs in his form, as nine of his ten Test tonnes have come away from home. Most importantly, seven of his Test centuries have come in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia (SENA) countries, with one century in Australia and two in South Africa.

As a senior within the team, KL has served as a perfect link between the youngsters and the old generation. While critics rightfully bashed him earlier for losing momentum and runs with each passing Test match, KL has silenced them with his bat this time around, registering a fifty-plus score at least in every Test.

He has been much more successful in ODIs, with 3,043 runs in 85 matches and 79 innings at an average of 49.08, a strike rate of 88.17, with seven centuries and 18 fifties. In T20Is, he is India's fourth-highest run-getter, with 2,265 runs in 72 matches and 68 innings at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of almost 140, with two centuries and 22 fifties. However, he has not played T20Is since a disastrous T20 WC 2022 in Australia, as his scoring rate has at times looked outdated in comparison to a younger, fearless, and hard-hitting lot of T20I specialists in India. (ANI)

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