Firing on one cylinder

K. L. Rahul and Abhinav Mukund in the first innings of the second Test against Australia in Bengaluru. Had Rahul, who was dismissed for 90, managed to score 10 more runs, he would have become the first Indian opener to score three centuries when his opening partner had scored a duck.

During the first day of the second Test of the on-going India-Australia Test series, India’s opener K. L. Rahul was dismissed for 90. He was running out of partners and resorted to some wild swinging to get the team some quick runs, and himself a century, but unfortunately became the ninth Indian wicket to fall in the process. If he had managed to score 10 more runs, Rahul would have become the first Indian opener to score three centuries when his opening partner had scored a duck. In that innings, his opening partner Abhinav Mukund was dismissed for an eight-ball duck. Mukund also made a duck in the last Test that he played for India, against England in Nottingham (2011), and on that occasion his opening partner (another Rahul) scored a century in the same innings (Rahul Dravid, 117).

Apart from Rahul, Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar and Vinoo Mankad have also scored two centuries each while their opening partners had made ducks in the same innings. The last two instances of an Indian opener scoring a century when his partner had a scored a duck has involved Rahul. In 2015, Rahul scored 108 against Sri Lanka, at the P. Sara Oval, and 110 against Australia, at the SCG, with Murali Vijay scoring ducks in both those innings.

K. L. Rahul’s Top-5 scores in Tests

 

Interestingly, in both these Tests, Rahul failed in the second innings while Vijay made useful contributions. Against Sri Lanka, Vijay made 82 in the second innings, while Rahul scored 2. Against Australia, Vijay scored 80 in the second innings, while Rahul scored 16. This is indicative of India’s recent struggles to have both their openers making runs in the same innings. India’s struggle to have both openers firing in the same match is epitomised by the fact that since August 2015, there has been just one 100-plus opening stand in 37 innings. However, the individual openers have clearly been in reasonably good form because they have cumulatively managed to score eight hundreds in the same period. India’s average opening stand in this period is only worth 26.57 runs, while India’s primary openers individually average much more. Rahul averages 42.05 in this period, while Vijay averages 36.15, both with three centuries each.

 

*******************************************************************