5 best knocks by Indian openers against England ft. Rohit Sharma
After a gripping Test series in South Africa, a stern English test awaits India at home. The much-anticipated five-match series between these two heavyweights starts on January 25.
Everyone is curious to see how India, led by Rohit Sharma, will fare against the much-discussed 'BazBall' style of England's approach to Test cricket.
With WTC points on stake, it's no secret that the hosts would prefer pitches that suited their strengths - spin.
While English batsmen would be preparing for the extreme spin test, Indian batsmen, especially openers, will be preparing for England's pacers, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, who can extract swing not only from the surface but also through the air.
As an opener, one has to judge the amount of swing, the length, and the bounce of the surface to blunt the shine as much as possible. In helping conditions, this job becomes even more difficult when the degree of swing is unknown to the openers.
The openers need to adjust their game according to the conditions and give the rest of the team the best chance to pile a big score on the board.
In this article, we will discuss some Indian openers who have performed exceedingly well in Test matches (both home and away) against England.
5 best knocks by Indian openers against England
#5. Ravi Shastri, 187 runs, Kennington Oval, London, 1990
In 1990, India were not the force in Test cricket they are today, but were no pushovers either. And when India toured England in 1990, no one gave them any chance to even draw a match.
England took a 1-0 lead heading into the third Test, and India desperately needed a win to draw the series.
Ravi Shastri left balls after balls, played dirty cricket, and scored 187 runs in 436 balls to propel his team to a mammoth total of 609/9 dec. However, the match was drawn and England won the series 1-0.
#4. Sunil Gavaskar, 221 runs, Kennington Oval, London, 1979
With England already leading 1-0, winning the fourth Test became crucial for the tourists to draw the series. But Indian batsmen struggled big time against English bowlers and conceded a mammoth lead of 103 runs.
England were ruthless in the second innings and set their opponents a target of 448 runs. In the do-or-die situation, Sunil Gavaskar played probably one of the best innings as an opener in England.
Unlike his traditional batting approach, Gavaskar played positive cricket and registered his double century to put India ahead in the game.
At 389/3, India seemed to be cruising, but Gavaskar's wicket, who scored 221 runs, derailed the chase, and India had to shake hands for a draw, just 19 runs behind the target.
#3. KL Rahul, 199 runs, Chennai, 2016
With England posting a challenging total of 477 in their first innings at Chennai, India needed a sound response with the bat. KL Rahul, who had been in tremendous form, started playing positive cricket and never allowed any bowler to settle down with line and lengths.
Rahul's game against spin was the highlight of his inning. He cut, pulled, and used the crease with perfection to amass a memorable century.
However, at 199, Rahul went after a slow loopy ball way outside the off-stump, which turned enough to induce a false shot at cover point to end what was a great knock.
#2. Murali Vijay, 146 runs, Trent Bridge, 2014
Murali Vijay, a traditional test opener who loves taking his sweet time, played one of his best innings in SENA countries. It was the first Test match against England at Trent Bridge in 2014.
Batting first, the Indian openers were tested to the extreme, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad swinging the ball ominously. Vijay didn't start the innings on a very positive note, as the duo kept bowling probing lines to produce few chances.
But as they say, "luck favors the brave," and luck was on Vijay’s side that day. Everyone was praising his technique, with Vijay leaving the ball like a charm.
Despite having little support from the other batsmen, Vijay scored his only century in England - 146 runs from 361 balls.
#1. Rohit Sharma, 127 runs, Kennington Oval, London, 2021
Rohit Sharma blended caution with aggression en route his first overseas Test century as he scored 127 runs against the hosts at Kennington Oval in 2021.
It was Sharma's first overseas assignment as an opener, and everyone was skeptical about his performance in tough batting conditions. The art of defending in bowler-friendly Test match conditions was not something one would associate with 'The Hitman' even a few years ago prior to that series.
But it was time for Sharma's redemption in Test cricket, and he seemed to be obsessed with doing well in whites in all conditions. He twitched his technique, lowered his backlift stance, played the balls close to his body, and left anything bowled outside off.
It was an uncharacteristic Rohit Sharma everyone witnessed, not only in that match but in the whole series.