KL Rahul delivered a memorable innings in the Leeds Test, scoring his ninth Test century in India’s second innings. His outstanding performance of 137 runs contributed to India’s total of 364, and setting a target of 371 runs for England to chase.
Rahul’s century allowed him to make a mark in the record books. He now holds the record for the most Test centuries by an Indian opener in England, with three. This surpasses the achievements of Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid, who had two centuries each as openers in England.
Moreover, Rahul is the second-highest Indian opener with five Test centuries in SENA countries, following Sunil Gavaskar. He also surpassed Saeed Anwar, who had four centuries in SENA countries.
Considering all Indian batters, regardless of position, Rahul has become the fifth-highest century-maker in SENA nations. Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 17 centuries. Another highlight of the match was Rishabh Pant, who hit his 8th Test century, with 118 runs. Rahul and Pant formed a winning partnership of 195 runs which contributed to India scoring 364. At the end of Day 4, England was 21 without losing a wicket, but was still 350 runs behind India.