KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal set a new record for the highest opening partnership by India in Test cricket at Headingley on Friday. The duo added 91 runs for the first wicket against England in the opening match of the series. They broke the previous record held by Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikkanth, who had shared a 64-run stand at the same venue in 1986. The left-right pair of Jaiswal and Rahul showed solid technique and patience to counter the early swing and seam movement. Their partnership gave India a strong platform before Rahul was dismissed for 42. He edged a fuller delivery from Brydon Carse to Joe Root at second slip. Jaiswal continued to anchor the innings.
Read Also | IND vs ENG LIVE Streaming: When and Where to Watch India vs England 1st Test Live on TV and Online
Highest opening partnership for India at Headingley
| Opening Pair | Runs Scored |
|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul | 87* |
| Sunil Gavaskar, Kris Srikkanth | 64 |
| Farokh Engineer, Ramesh Saxena | 39 |
| KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma | 34 |
| DK Gaekwad, Pankaj Roy | 18 |
This was the second 50-plus opening stand between Rahul and Jaiswal. Their first was a 201-run partnership against Australia in Perth in 2024.
India were asked to bat first after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss. At the toss, Stokes said England would bowl first to take advantage of early conditions. “Headingley is a very good cricket wicket. We want to try and use the early conditions,” he said.
India captain Shubman Gill also admitted he would have chosen to bowl first. “Might be a bit tough in the first session, but it should be good to bat on later,” he said. India handed a debut to Sai Sudharsan, who was named to bat at number three, while Karun Nair returned to the side at number six.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
