On Day 2 of the first Test match of the India tour of England, the visitors registered a score of 125/4 before the play was called off for the day due to the rain. India’s new opening pair Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were the silver lining for the visiting side as the batsmen shone on a dull day in Nottingham.
Unlike the hosts, the Indian team had a solid opening partnership which put the tourists in a comfortable position. The pair of Rohit and Rahul kept the momentum going for the Indian team after almost conjuring a 100-run stand for the opening partnership. Let’s have a look at the milestones achieved by the openers on Day 2:
- Most deliveries faced by openers since 2007
Kl Rahul and Rohit Sharma faced 225 balls in their opening stand in the ongoing first Test which is the highest by an Indian opening pair outside Asia since July 2007. Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer had batted for 253 balls for their opening partnership vs England in Nottingham in July 2007.
- Opening partnership of 97
The Indian opening pair conjured 97 on Day 2 of the first Test before Rohit departed while playing a mistimed pull shot on Ollie Robinson’s delivery. The opening partnership of 97 is the highest by an Indian opening pair outside Asia since Jaffer and Karthik’s stand of 147 in the 2007 Test series against England.
- Rahul scores a long-awaited 50+ score in Tests
After smashing 149 against the Englishmen in the fifth Test of the India tour of England 2018, the 29-year-old cricketer scored his first 50+ score in the longest format on Day 2 of the ongoing Test match against England. After an intense partnership with Rohit came to an end, the Indian team suffered a minor debacle as the visitors lost four wickets for just 15 runs before the bad light interrupted the play and the rain stopped the play.