WATCH: KL Rahul eye catching cover drive against Chris Woakes in first Test match between England and India

All doubts are clear. The newly formed opening pair between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul—a combination of youth and experience. Rahul and Jaiswal, from the beginning of the Headingley Test of the 5-match series, have been dominating over England's slightly inexperienced bowling line-up. During the first hour of the match (ENG vs IND), which is considered important for a Test match, Rahul played some classic cover drives. Apart from the skipper, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes is the most senior pacer of the England pace attack. Against him, Rahul did not hesitate to play strokes. 

There is some green on the track, but the nature of the wicket has not produced extra bounce for the pacers. Under the overcast weather in Leeds, the red ball was undoubtedly moving in the air, but Jaiswal and Rahul had enough preparations for this day.

During the first one or one and a half hours of the match, the openers played some shots that were absolutely eye-catching. Especially from KL. Netizens on social media labeled him as 'Classic KL' after watching those cover drives from his blade.

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In this article, we've attached a social media post; through that, readers can enjoy a hint of Rahul's sublime batting in the first innings. In this, we can see Woakes delivered a full-length ball outside the off stump. In reply, Rahul played a copybook cover drive, perfectly positioned his head, and got the bat well under the ball for a 4. 

But he couldn't convert his fluent batting into a fifty. Brydon Carse produced the moment Stokes and his team were waiting for. The seamer broke the deadlock and the opening partnership of Team India. Rahul departed after a well-played 42-run innings. Joe Root did not make any mistake to grab the ball. 

Watch the copy book cover drive here

THE MASTER, KL RAHUL WITH A CLASSIC COVER DRIVE 🥶 pic.twitter.com/dX6kQFOLVl

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 20, 2025