Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar has heavily criticized Ajinkya Rahane for his poor performance in the Two-match Test series against New Zealand. India’s Test vice-captain was a complete failure with the bat when it came to the bouncy pitches despite a solid start in Wellington.
Well, Rahane had a good start in the tour with scoring 46 runs and 29 runs in the first Test match. Although he was not up to the mark, he was surely better than others at Basin Reserve.
However, he failed to continue his performance in the second Test match which was crucial for the visitors as India had already lost the first Test match.
Ajinkya Rahane failed to deliver as a senior batter:
The 31-year-old struggled to face the Kiwi pacers. They didn’t have to try hard to get him out.
Tim Southee bowled an outswinger and Rahane could conjure up just seven runs in the first innings while in the second innings, Neil Wagner bowled a short delivery to claim prized scalp of Virat’s deputy.
You’ve to show a lot of patience and guts: Dilip Vengsarkar on Ajinkya Rahane
Former Indian batsman Vengsarkar, who played 116 Tests himself, pointed out the mistakes of Rahane’s technique against New Zealand.
“He’s making an extra movement with his hands while batting. He’s moving his bat too much in his backlift. He’s a fraction of a second late on to the ball. It explains why his head isn’t still when the ball is delivered,” told Vengsarkar to TOI.
He continued, “You need to leave the short balls alone. They were bowling short-pitched stuff on a green top. Your shot selection becomes very important in such a case. You’ve to show a lot of patience and guts.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand clean-sweep India in the two-match Test series with 2-0. It was a disappointing defeat for India as no major player including Virat Kohli showed a below-par performance.
As now the team has arrived home, they will play three-match ODI series against South Africa starting from March 12.