A Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin-minus India began well in the ongoing five-match series against England after being asked to bat first by Ben Stokes in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. India’s opening batters KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal mixed caution with aggression to put England’s pace attack of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jos Tongue and Stokes under pressure.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Rahul and Jaiswal for their ability to not poke at balls bowled outside the off-stump. However, in doing so, he ended up taking a jibe at former India captain Virat Kohli, who retired from Test cricket in May 2025, just days ahead of the squad announcement for the England series.
Speaking about Kohli, the right-handed batter got dismissed on all eight occasions against Australia in a similar fashion as he kept chasing deliveries on the fourth and fifth stump lines. This weakness has really troubled Kohli for his entire career, and in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland really exploited it to the tilt.
Speaking of the Headingley Test, Rahul and Jaiswal showed no signs of nerves as the duo exhibited a clear game plan against the England pace attack. Rahul and Jaiswal saw off the new ball within the first hour. However, the duo were quick to pounce on loose deliveries.
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“Deliveries outside the off stump, full, have been left alone. Jaiswal has done that. Anything that has been pitched right up into the stumps, he has driven. Anything that has been wide, he has looked to score on. KL Rahul has not touched one delivery or attempted to play one single delivery that’s been full, just outside off. Anything that has been wide, he has gone with a covered drive,” said Manjrekar while commentating in the first session on Day 1 of the first Test.
“So a lot of what you’re seeing is being created by these two batters, and my hat’s off to them. We know of a former batter who would have gone after that delivery and got himself into trouble. But not these two,” he added.
It must be mentioned that Rahul’s dismissal eventually came when he chased a delivery bowled well outside off. The right-hander went for a big booming drive and ended up losing his wicket to Brydon Carse for 42.
‘This is a young batting line-up’
India have handed a debut to Sai Sudharsan in the first Test. The left-hander would be batting at No.3. Karun Nair has also returned to the Test playing XI after eight years. He would be batting at No.6.
Sanjay Manjrekar said that this might be a young batting line-up, but all of the members chosen in the playing XI have good technique, which would help the team.
“That’s why I believe this is a young batting line-up. But when you look at their batting technique, they have the technique to survive in challenging test conditions. Sai Sudarshan as well. T20 Sensation will come and defend well. Down the order, Rishabh Pant has a good defence,” said Manjrekar.
“Jadeja as well. Karun Nair, I’m not sure how he’ll go. But these two have shown that, for openers, they’re just ideal with their defensive technique,” he added.
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and asked India to bat first. The hosts are playing with a lone spinner, Shoaib Bashir.
