KL Rahul misses Sunil Gavaskar's legendary record by 10 runs in England series
KL Rahul scored just 7 in his final innings of the England series but ended a strong tour with 532 runs, his best in a Test series. He narrowly missed Sunil Gavaskar’s 1979 record of 542 runs, the most by an Indian opener in a Test series vs England.
KL Rahul managed just seven runs in the second innings of the fifth Test against England at The Oval, falling to Josh Tongue after a cautious start. While opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal provided early momentum, Rahul struggled to find rhythm and couldn't convert his start.
Despite the modest final innings, Rahul’s overall performance on this tour has been impressive. He finished the five-match series with 532 runs, his highest tally in a single Test series, having faced over 1,000 balls for the first time in his career. The consistency and resilience he showed throughout the series will undoubtedly boost his confidence moving forward.
However, Rahul narrowly missed out on matching a historic milestone. The record for the most runs by an Indian opener in a Test series against England still belongs to Sunil Gavaskar, who scored 542 runs during the 1979 series. Rahul came within just 10 runs of surpassing that mark, underlining the strength of his campaign despite the final low score.
Most runs by an Indian opener in a Test series in England
542 - Sunil Gavaskar, 1979
532 - KL Rahul, 2025*
402 - Murali Vijay, 2014
368 - Rohit Sharma, 2021-22
Jaiswal completes half-century
India had a poor start to the day, having lost four wickets in 28 minutes. With the bat, England started well, with the openers setting the tone, but they failed to convert it. Zak Crawley and Harry Brook scored a half-century each as England managed a lead of 23 runs.
In the third innings, youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal played some brilliant cricket in the middle. He was lucky on a couple of occasions as the 24-year-old was dropped twice, but he went up to score a half-century. He reached the landmark with a cracking uppercut for a six. However, soon after that, Sai Sudharsan departed for 11 runs.