Stats: Instances of 100-plus stands after starting at 0/2 in Tests

ENG vs IND 2025, 4th Test: Shubman Gill and KL Rahul (Source: Getty Images)

KL Rahul and Shubman Gill engineered a vital rescue act for India in the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against England. The visitors were looking down the barrel after losing a couple of wickets for no runs on the board in the very first over of their second innings. Chris Woakes struck twice to get rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal (0 off 4) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (0 off 1).

The seasoned Rahul and the skipper saw off the early threat of the new ball under slightly overcast conditions at Old Trafford perfectly well to further extend their partnership. The two batters scripted history once they surpassed the team 100 by the 40th over. It was only the third time in world cricket that a batting duo had carved out a 100-plus stand for the third wicket after a team was 0/2.

Three 100+ partnerships in Tests after teams were 0/2

3. Archie MacLaren and Stanley Jackson — 102 runs vs Australia (Lord’s, 1902)

Bert Hopkins struck twice to dismiss C.B. Fry and KS Ranjitsinhji. Electing to bat first, England were yet to open the scoring in the second Test of the five-match series at Lord’s. The first wicket to fall was that of Fry, who was caught at short leg in the second over of the game, which had a delayed start due to rain. Hopkins’ second breakthrough came in his second over, the innings’ fourth.

Stanley Jackson joined skipper Archie MacLaren at the crease after Ranjitsinhji was bowled off his pads. The match had to be briefly halted before the first runs were scored due to a rain interruption. The players were off the field once again after a spell of showers when the score had reached 19. The umpires decided to resume proceedings briefly after.

The two batters battled valiantly in bad light to provide minimal chances to Australia to take their wickets. Stumps was called with the score at 102/2. MacLaren stood unbeaten on 47* while Stanley brought up his half-century (55*). There was no further play possible during the next couple of days, after the level of water in the ground had almost submerged half of it in the next two days.

2. Mohinder Amarnath, Gundappa Viswanath – 105 runs vs Australia (Melbourne, 1977/78)

The Melbourne Cricket Ground stood true to its reputation of providing zip and lift to the brand-new cherry, as India lost two wickets before opening their account in the form of Sunil Gavaskar (0 off 9) and Chetan Chauhan (0 off 6). Mohinder Amarnath walked in alongside Gundappa Viswanath, intending to limit the damage the duo of Jeff Thomson and Wayne Clark posed to inflict.

Amarnath batted with a lot of courage, considering he had injured his right hand early on in the piece. Both of them rotated the strike quite well while putting the rare loose deliveries away to the fence. Viswanath was dismissed shortly after getting to his 17th Test half-century. Amarnath, who was dropped on 43, went onto eventually score 72.

Bhagwath Chandrasekhar starred with a six-wicket haul (6/52 in 14.1 overs) to bowl Australia out for 213. India set the opposition a 387-run target on the back of a tenacious ton (118 off 285) off the bat of Gavaskar. A second six-fer for Chandrasekhar (6/52 in 20 overs) gifted India a massive 222-run triumph to win their first match of the five-match series.

1. KL Rahul, Shubman Gill – 188 runs vs England (Manchester, 2025)

Woakes had the Indians in all sorts of trouble after reducing India to 0/2 by the end of the opening over of the second innings. The Gill-led unit went into Lunch on the fourth day of the fourth Test at 1/2 in 3 overs. The next handful of overs from Jofra Archer and Woakes were quite fiery. The bowlers were making the ball talk in the air and off the surface.

Rahul and Gill combined well to forge 86 runs in the second session to steady the ship after a shaky start to the innings. Gill and Rahul raised their respective fifties either side of Tea. They played a probing Liam Dawson particularly well to close out the day unscathed. An incoming delivery from Stokes broke the stand early on the final day of the game, as the Karnataka batter had to depart for a composed 90.

Stokes’ first five-wicket haul (5/72 in 24 overs) in nearly eight years restricted India to 358 when they could have easily scored more. A productive opening stand by Zak Crawley (84 off 113) and Ben Duckett (94 off 100) set the tone for Joe Root (150 off 248) and Stokes (141 off 198) to rack up 669.

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