KL Rahul Achieves Massive Milestone in Headingley; Only Behind Sunil Gavaskar in this List

India's star opener KL Rahul has achieved a big milestone in Test cricket. He now has the second-most 50+ scores by an Indian opener in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia). KL Rahul reached this landmark on Day 4 of the first Test between India and England in Leeds during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

Being one of the seniormost players in this young Indian team, Rahul carries loads of experience with him. He has used his experience quite well in the ongoing IND vs ENG 1st Test at Headingley. While he missed out on a half-century in the first innings, Rahul batted excellently in the second innings and led India's charge.

KL Rahul Record in Headingley

Rahul scored a fifty in the second innings of the IND vs ENG 1st Test played at Headingley. With this knock, he has now scored 9 fifties in SENA countries. He has also equalled Murali Vijay, who also has 9 such scores. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar leads the list with 19 scores of 50 or more as an opener in SENA countries. With this, KL Rahul is now tied second on the list, just behind Gavaskar.

KL Rahul milestone is massive by looking at the record of all the Indian openers in SENA countries over the years. He is likely to surpass Vijay by looking at his current form. He will be key for India in the ongoing IND vs ENG Test series. This proves how important KL Rahul has been for India in difficult overseas conditions. His ability to adapt to various positions and conditions makes him such a valuable asset.

KL Rahul Crosses 1,000 Test Runs vs England

KL Rahul also went past 1,000 runs against England in Test cricket. He achieved this milestone on Day 3 of the same Test at Headingley. In India’s first innings, he scored 42 runs. He reached the 1,000-run mark with his third run in the second innings. He is now the 17th Indian to score over 1,000 runs against England in Tests.

Rahul averages close to 40 in 14 Tests against them. Only against Australia (894 runs), he has over 500 runs in Tests besides England. KL Rahul has scored three hundreds and two fifties against England. His best score of 199 came in Chennai during England’s tour of India in 2016. He also scored 149 at The Oval in 2018 and a match-winning hundred at Lord’s in 2021. He is one of five Indian openers with multiple Test hundreds in England.

KL Rahul Record in England

This is Rahul’s 10th Test in England. He has scored over 640 runs in the country at an average of over 34. Most of these runs came as an opener. Among Indian openers, only Sunil Gavaskar has more runs in England with 1,152.

KL Rahul has shown great technique and patience in English conditions. He has been India’s go-to opener in away Tests, especially in recent years. Rahul has now scored more than 3,300 runs in his Test career. He has played 59 matches and averages over 33. He has hit eight centuries and 17 half-centuries. Most of his runs, over 2,800, have come while opening the innings.

Rahul is now the most experienced batter in India’s current Test squad. His experience is vital as India plays a tough away series in the World Test Championship cycle. Recently, he also scored a century for India A against England Lions at Northampton, proving his form and fitness ahead of the big series.