Road to Gavaskar: KL Rahul chases legend's SENA greatness amid purple patch in England

Times of Oman

6 days ago

London: Indian opener KL Rahul would be aiming to make history during the final Test against England at The Oval in London, as he is just 32 runs short of overtaking the India great's record of most runs by an Indian opener during the course of a South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) series.
KL, playing a role of an opener and an elderly, wise statesman, within a team full of youngsters and a team with some players with experience level as much or more than him, will be aiming to continue this career-defining series going at the venue where he has some fond memories, having smashed 149 back in 2018, during a chase of 464 runs, though his team fell 118 runs short despite his brilliant partnership with Rishabh Pant, who also struck a magnificent ton.
In the series so far, KL has been the second-highest run-getter overall, with 511 runs in eight innings across four matches at an average of 63.87, with two centuries and two fifties. His best score is 137. In the previous Test at Old Trafford, he had played solid knocks of 46 and 90, with the latter helping India draw the match.
If KL scores 32 more runs, he will overtake Gavaskar's tally of 542 runs in four matches and seven innings at an average of 77.42, with a century and four fifties, best score of 221, which came during the tour of England way back in 1979.
Also, so far in the series, KL has scored one fifty-plus score in every match, and the right-hander would like his purple patch to continue. Another fifty-plus score would help him match with Gavaskar's five fifty-plus scores (a century and four fifties during the 1979 England tour) and Murali Vijay's five fifty-plus scores (a century and four fifties against Australia back in 2014) as the joint-most fifty-plus scores by an Indian during a SENA series. KL's superior century count will give him an edge.
If KL manages to score a century, he will become the first-ever Indian opener with three centuries in England. KL has a fine record in England, scoring 1,125 runs at an average of 43.26, with four centuries and three fifties in 26 innings and a best score of 149.
One more century will take him close to Gavaskar's count of eight centuries in SENA as an opener, giving him seven centuries as an opener in these tough conditions.
KL is also just 45 runs away from outclassing Gavaskar (1,152 runs in 15 Tests and 28 innings at an average of 41.14, with two centuries and eight fifties) to become the Indian opener with the highest amount of runs in England, currently sitting at 1,108 runs in 12 Tests and 24 innings at an average of 46.16, with four centuries and three fifties.