Ajinkya Rahane stood up in Virat Kohli’s absence as the batsman and the captain while playing one of the most crucial important knock of 112 in Indian Test history under difficult circumstances against a high-quality Australian bowling line up to walk away with the Man of the Match award.
“Good people finish first too” – former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly wrote on his Twitter handle while praising him as captain after the 32-year-old guided India to a magnificent series-levelling win against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ajinkya Rahane (Image Credit: Twitter)
Ajinkya Rahane Should Be Given Credit For Being Calm While Batting Or As Captain: Pravin Amre
Ajinkya Rahane showed exemplary leadership skills in India’s comeback win after the debacle in Adelaide. He’s quietly aggressive captaincy style and the decision to back debutants Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill have been praised by one and all. India came into the second Test at MCG after an embarrassing loss in Adelaide, which also saw the Virat Kohli-led team being dismissed for 36 in second innings, their lowest ever Test innings total.
Ajinkya Rahane’s long time coach and mentor Pravin Amre praised India’s stand-in captain and said he has taken on the responsibility of being captain really well.
“If you ask me, I worked only with Ajinkya the batsman. The captaincy or leadership quality is his own. Virat is the captain and when he is not there, Ajinkya took over the duties. So, I will give credit to Ajinkya for being Ajinkya the captain. Be it batting or leading the side, he is so calm. That’s his style. Some are aggressive and some go over the board, but Ajinkya is calm and composed,” Amre told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview.
Pravin Amre (Image Credit: Google)
“Ajinkya is always ready with the plans. Ajinkya has batted at No. 1 and No. 6 as well. He is always ready to bat at any position. It’s always team first for him. He is always ready to do the job.” Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs for India between 1991 and 1994 further said.
Interestingly, he as Test captain, has a 100% win record having captained three Tests so far and won all three. The first was against Australia in 2017 in Dharamsala, when India won by 8 wickets and then against Afghanistan in their first Test in Bengaluru in 2018. India won that match by an innings and 262 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane Done A Commendable Job As Captain: Pravin Amre Satisfied With Him Backing Two Debutants
In the crucial second Test match at the MCG, two youngsters namely pacer Mohammed Siraj and young opening batsman Shubman Gill were handed their Test caps. Shubman Gill scored 45 (first innings) and 35 not out (second innings) in the MCG Test, while Mohammed Siraj claimed five wickets in India’s win. Mohammed Siraj in fact is only behind Lasith Malinga (6 wickets) for the most wickets taken by an overseas debutant in a Test in Australia.
“The best thing I liked is how Ajinkya backed the two debutants. Backing debutants Gill and Siraj in the crucial Test at MCG was a very big call from Ajinkya. They are fresh and they don’t have any baggage with them,” Amre further told TimesofIndia.com.
“This is one of the toughest phases for Indian cricket. You lost the first Test and also were all out for 36. Someone had to take that responsibility. I am glad that Ajinkya has taken that responsibility. Team India are missing Virat badly because he is the ultimate run-machine for the team.” he said
“Ajinkya was number one as a captain and as a batsman. He performed the dual role really well. He has done a commendable job,” Amre who has coached Rahane since Rahane was 17 and is still his mentor said.
Rohit Sharma. Credits: BCCI Twitter
The team have to ensure that they don’t rest on their laurels. The bigger goal of trying to win the series and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is the biggest priority. A win in the Sydney Test could well give Australia a major knock out blow who though would be bolstered by having David Warner back in the squad.
The team management, including Ajinkya Rahane, will have to make some very important calls going into the third Test in Sydney, which could well be the series-defining match.
“Ajinkya has to maintain his statement – ‘stay in the moment’. Go into SCG Test considering MCG win as history. MCG win is a big morale booster for the team but they need to look forward and live in the moment. You have won this Test but you can lose the next two Tests,” Amre further told TimesofIndia.com.
“So, India need to be alert, produce good cricket to be a winner in Australia and as Ajinkya says ‘stay in the moment’,” the 52-year-old former India cricketer signed off.
There are also multiple changes which can be inducted in the playing XI to consider. Opener Rohit Sharma could be included alongside KL Rahul and pacer T Natarajan or Navdeep Saini for injured Umesh Yadav. The two players most likely to make way are Mayank Agarwal, who scored 17 and 9 in the first Test and 5 and 0 in the second and Hanuma Vihari, who has scores of 16 and 8 in the first Test and 21 in the second.
