Ajinkya Rahane: India's Man for All Seasons

More than the runs, though, it is the solidity which Rahane has been providing to the middleorder that has given relief to the team...

- Bhavesh Bhimani

It was fascinating to watch Ajinkya Rahane bat against New Zealand in the third Test of the 3-match series at Indore. Rahane notched up his highest Test score of 188 in the match which eventually resulted in a massive victory for India. However, it was by no means even close to the best that one has seen Rahane bat.

He struggled in the earlier part of his innings when he was peppered with short balls and the batsman seemed ill at ease to cope with them. He was hit regularly on the arm guard and the helmet. He could not time his shots properly. He top-edged a few hooks and was looking really uncomfortable. But he still stuck through. He grinded through the tough phase and made it to the next day where he eventually went on to conquer the bowlers and got his highest score. That, in effect, gives a great description of Ajinkya Rahane the cricketer.

“When you struggle it is important how much you enjoy that struggle,” Rahane said to a cricket based website after his hundred at Indore. “You won’t always have it your way. What is important is to stay at the wicket, stay not out, even if it means you are hit on the helmet, beaten or if you don’t look good. As a batsman, it is important to be there to face the next ball. It takes just one ball to get out.”

He then added, “I actually enjoyed this innings a lot. This is real Test cricket, when you can score a century even when made to struggle. You can’t score all your hundreds in 120 or 130 or 140 balls; sometimes you will have to play more balls, 200 or 230. I enjoyed spending that time a lot.”