AUS vs IND 2024-25: KL Rahul on verge of big feat in Boxing Day Tests. (Source – Getty Images)
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has been a nightmare for the majority of the Indian batters. However, one batter who has looked unperturbed and has played some decent knocks in the three games so far is Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, who is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the five-match series.
KL Rahul’s batting position has been constantly changed over the last few months and the Indian team has entrusted him with the task of opening the batting alongside Yashasavi Jaiswal. Rahul has passed the test with flying colours, having scored two half-centuries in the series so far, including the solid 84 in the third Test in Brisbane. Going into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, the fourth match of the five-match series, he will be close to setting a record that has not been achieved by any Indian batter in Test cricket.
Rahul has scored two consecutive centuries in the last two Boxing Day Tests he has played, with the first one coming in Centurion against South Africa in 2021, when he scored 123 from 260 deliveries. He scored 101 at the same venue against the same oppoistion in 2023. With that, Rahul has a chance to become the first Indian batter to score three consecutive centuries in Boxing Day Tests, as he goes to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The best batters in Boxing Day Tests
Rahul has already joined the group of some of the best Indian batters in the Boxing Day Test matches. The 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, with his two back-to-back Boxing Day Test centuries, shares the record for the most centuries in Boxing Day Tests by an Indian along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane, who also have two centuries each.
Meanwhile, Jacques Kallis holds the record for scoring most centuries in Boxing Day Tests, with four centuries to his name, including his maiden century at the MCG in 1997, where his 101 from 279 against Australia helped his side draw the match.