Asked to bat first by Ben Stokes in the opening Test of the current five-match series against England at Headingley, Leeds, India started well with a side that was missing Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. To put England's pace attack of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jos Tongue, and Stokes under pressure, India's opening batsmen KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a balance between prudence and aggressiveness.

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Rahul and Jaiswal for their restraint in not poking at deliveries bowled outside the off-stump. But in doing so, he inadvertently insulted former India captain Virat Kohli, who announced his retirement from Test cricket just days before the team for the England series was revealed in May 2025.

When discussing Kohli, the right-handed batsman was consistently dismissed in the same manner throughout all eight of his matches against Australia, as he continued to pursue balls on the fourth and fifth stump lines. Kohli has struggled with this vulnerability throughout his career, and in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland made the most of it.

In terms of the Headingley Test, Rahul and Jaiswal displayed a distinct game plan against the England pace attack, which suggested they were not anxious. The new ball was bowled out by Rahul and Jaiswal in the opening hour. However, the couple responded quickly to errant pitches.

"Full deliveries outside the off stump have been left alone. And that's what Jaiswal has accomplished. He has driven everything that has been thrown directly into the stumps. He has tried to score on anything that has been wide. Outside off, KL Rahul has not tried to play a single ball that has been full. "Anything that has been wide, he has gone with a covered drive," Manjrekar stated during the first session of the first Test's Day 1.

"Therefore, these two batters are responsible for a large portion of what you are seeing, and my hats are off to them. A former hitter comes to mind who would have chased that pitch and ended up in difficulty. However, these two are not included, he said.

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.

Read Also: ‘You Don’t Miss a Batter Averaging 33’: Virat Kohli Criticized Over England Batting Record

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