KL Rahul reached a major milestone on Day 1 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, becoming just the fourth Indian batter to score over 1,000 Test runs in England. He overtook Virat Kohli’s tally of 976 runs during a steady knock that also pushed his total for the current series past 400 runs.

Rahul has been one of the standout performers on this tour, with centuries at both Edgbaston and Lord’s. Only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar have scored more Test runs in England for India.

India, currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series, made three changes for the match. Debutant Anshul Kamboj replaced the injured Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan came in for Karun Nair, and Shardul Thakur returned to the side in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Kamboj’s selection surprised some, but he had impressed in training sessions ahead of the match.

Batting first on a green-tinged pitch, Rahul provided early stability alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, once again proving his value as a dependable opener. With the series on the line, India will be banking on Rahul to continue anchoring the top order.