1000 Balls Faced! Analysing How KL Rahul Left Past Demons Behind To Conquer England

KL Rahul has faced 1000 deliveries on this tour [Source: AFP Photo]

Before the start of the England tour, KL Rahul was a curious case for every Cricket fan. He had all the talent in the world, and yet, he was inconsistent at the international stage. However, something changed after getting the opening slot alongside youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal during the Australian tour.

In the Australian tour, he amassed 276 runs, but something was still missing from his arsenal, and it was consistency. KL Rahul was known for getting starts, but he could not convert them into a big score.

But the ongoing England tour shattered the myth around KL Rahul, and there is no doubt that the opening batter has been India's best batter in the series, as he has batted in tough conditions at the top.

KL Rahul's runs in ongoing series

(KL Rahul stats in England 2025)

As the numbers tell, he has doubled his stats from the last Australian tour, and is still going strong with an innings still to be played. 525 runs, at an average of 65, with two centuries, showcases KL Rahul's excellence under tough conditions.

In fact, this is the first time in his 11-year long Test career that the Karnataka batter has crossed 500-plus runs in a series. This showcases his consistency, and his ability to finally understand his game-play.

Why KL Rahul has been successful in the ongoing tour

He now bats at his favourite batting position

Throughout the last decade, KL Rahul has been used as a "jack of all trades" batter, who has been asked to open the innings, has been urged to play at number 5, basically, he has been turned into a "Yes" man for Team India. But with Rohit Sharma retiring, the opening slot was permanently given to KL Rahul, and he has shown his brilliance there.

Before this tour, his highest aggregate in a Test series was 315 runs, which apparently came during India's tour of England in 2021. Interestingly, during that tour, KL opened the innings in all four Tests.

Has made technical changes to his batting

• Sometimes KL Rahul can get a bit itchy as he tends to play away from the body, thus allowing an outside-edge from the blade. However, this England tour has seen him make a slight tweak to his batting.
• In the five matches so far, KL Rahul has been patient in his batting approach, as he has allowed the ball to come to him, rather than chasing it. He plays closer to the body and has also played "late" on this tour. In England, the ball swings late, and hence, the batters are advised not to commit early and wait for the ball.
• That is why most of his scoring shots have come towards the point, and the backward point region on this tour, which has showcased his ability to play the ball late.

On this tour, he became the third Indian opener to play 1000-plus balls in England in a single series, and it is purely due to the technical and mental changes he made to his game.

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