Can Jaiswal and KL Rahul Outshine India’s Past Opening Combos in England?

India’s tour of England has been sort of a party for the bowlers but a challenge for the batsmen, looking at the bowler-friendly conditions of the pitches. Over the past few tours in England, the Indian batsmen have surely displayed their dominant performances against the bowlers.

Whether it is James Anderson or Stuart Broad, every bowler faced the wrath of the Indian batsmen, but sometimes the bowlers were also able to dominate. With one of the main openers of the Indian line-up, Rohit Sharma, marking an end to his Test career, it will be a new start for the openers in the team, which comes in the England tour.

Let’s take a look at the opening pairs of the Indian cricket team in the last few tours of England, and the benchmark which is already been set for the new pair.

Pataudi Trophy 2007

Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer were the opening duo for the Indian cricket team in the 2007 Pataudi Trophy, which was hosted in England. It should also be noted that this is the last Test series India won in England by 1-0, making them a legendary opening pair for the team in England.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Dinesh Karthik	3	6	263	43.83	50.77	–	3
Wasim Jaffer	3	6	185	30.83	45.23	–	2

Both batsmen showcased their power throughout the three-match Test series. Whenever Dinesh Karthik failed to score, Jaffer took the responsibility to score well, and vice versa. With their strong start to the team, the other batters such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and many more were able to capitalise on the momentum.

Dinesh Karthik was the key performer in this opening pair, as he scored 263 runs in 3 matches at an average of 43.83, with three half-centuries. On the other hand, Wasim Jaffer scored 185 runs in 3 matches at an average of 30.83, with two half-centuries, showcasing the contribution of these stars to the team.

In the second Test match, which was being played at Nottingham, Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer put up a 147-run opening stand for the team. After England was all out at the score of 198, Karthik and Jaffer came to open the innings for the Indian team and showcased their class to dominate over the English bowlers at their own home ground.

Karthik scored 77 runs and Jaffer scored 62, and both batsmen stood on the crease till the 43rd over. Even in the last Test match, both had a 62-run partnership, which gave a strong start to the Indian team.

Pataudi Trophy 2011

After four years, the Pataudi Trophy was once again hosted in England, but this time, the Indian team had undergone various changes in its batting line-up. Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund took the responsibility to open the innings for the team in the tough English conditions.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Gautam Gambhir	3	6	102	17.00	34.34	–	–
Abhinav Mukund	2	4	64	16.00	39.50	–	–

Unfortunately, the series didn’t go as well as expected for the Indian team, as England won by 4-0, marking a big loss for the team in the Pataudi Trophy. The major reason behind this was the unsettled opening duo, as Mukund and Gambhir had a tough time in the series. Moreover, they also faced bowlers such as Broad, Swann, and Anderson, causing more challenges.

Gautam Gambhir did not perform well in this series, as he scored 102 runs in 3 matches at an average of just 17, with no big scores coming off his bat. On the other hand, Abhinav Mukund also failed to perform while opening, as he scored 64 runs in 2 matches at an average of 16, with a high score of 49.

Taking a look at such unexpected performances in the opening, Mukund was dropped in the third match and replaced by Virender Sehwag. Abhinav Mukund and Gautam Gambhir had a half-century partnership, which came in the first Test, when the pair scored 63 runs for the first wicket.

India Tour of England 2014

By the India tour of England 2014, the Indian team had found two strong openers for the English conditions, in the form of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Dhawan was known for dominating in the limited-overs format for the Indian team, while Vijay was known for his classy play style, which allowed him to score runs with ease.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Murali Vijay	5	10	402	40.20	38.14	1	2
Shikhar Dhawan	3	6	122	20.33	57.81	–	–

Fans surely did have a lot of expectations from the Vijay Dhawan duo, as an opening pair, and they were able to come up to the same on a few occasions. But in the majority of the cases, it was Murali Vijay carrying the innings for a long time, as Dhawan struggled to play in England’s tough conditions.

Due to this reason, Shikhar Dhawan played just 3 matches and scored 122 runs at an average of 20.33 runs. On the other hand, Murali Vijay ended as the top run scorer for the team in the 2014 tour, as he scored 402 runs in 5 matches at an average of 40.20, with one century and two half-centuries.

In all the three matches played by Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as the opening pair, they were not able to even touch the 50-run mark for the first wicket, causing some tensions within the team. As a result, Shikhar Dhawan was dropped after the third match, and Vijay was sent to open with Gautam Gambhir.

India Tour of England 2018

Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the Indian team went through multiple changes as they got ready for the upcoming England tour in 2018. But there was one thing which he left unchanged, which was the opening pair of Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. The Indian team lost this series by 4-1 but was able to give a good competition to the English bowlers.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Murali Vijay	2	4	26	6.50	34.66	–	–
Shikhar Dhawan	4	8	162	20.25	55.47	–	–

It was believed that Vijay and Dhawan would be able to dominate this time as a duo in the English conditions. But the expectations didn’t meet reality, as both player was not able to put up some good performances. Murali Vijay, who was the hero of the previous series, ended up scoring just 26 runs in 2 matches at an average of 6.50.

On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan had finally regained his form, but it was not at par, as he scored 162 runs in 4 matches at an average of 20.25 runs per innings. In the first Test match, the duo put up a 50-run opening partnership, which was their first half-century stand in all the Tests played in England.

Shikhar Dhawan was replaced by KL Rahul in the opening spot, and this decision was not good for the team in the 2nd Test, as they lost by a big margin at Lord’s. However, the team dropped Murali instead of Dhawan in the third Test, as the duo of Rahul and Dhawan started to perform well. In both innings, they were able to put up a 60-run stand for the opening partnership.

India Tour of England 2021-22

The last time when India went against England at their home ground, the team was finally able to put the matches on the knife edge, showcasing their strength. Led by Virat Kohli, there were changes made to the team’s opening pair this time, as KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma came down as the new opening duo. The series was played beautifully by the team, as it ended in a 2-2 draw.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	100s	50s
Rohit Sharma	4	8	368	52.57	42.49	1	2
KL Rahul	4	8	315	39.37	42.85	1	1

The dominance of this duo was seen in the first match of the series, where they put up 97 runs for the first wicket. Rohit Sharma scored 368 runs in 4 matches at an average of 52.57, with a century and two half-centuries, while KL Rahul scored 315 runs in 4 matches at an average of 39.37, with a century and a half-century.

As they went on to play four Test matches, India was able to establish a lead in the series and fans thought that maybe it is the time that India finally beats England in England. Even in the second Test, Rahul and Rohit put up a 126-run opening stand in the first innings, helping the team to win.

In the fourth Test also, the pair had a partnership of 83 runs for the first wicket, playing an important role for India’s second win in the series. But neither of them played the last Test, as Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara went on to open the innings for the team.

With speculation that Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will be opening for the team in the upcoming series, will they be able to set a new benchmark for Indian openers in England or not?