5 Best Knocks Of Birthday Boy Ajinkya Rahane

On Sunday, June 6th, senior India batsman Ajinkya Rahane celebrates his 33rd birthday. Born in 1988 in Maharashtra, the right-hander has become a crucial part of the Test side, especially away from home.

Gifted with immense talent, and one of the technically strong batters, Ajinkya Rahane has scored 7920 international runs across formats, and 3941 runs in the IPL while also having captained the Rajasthan Royals.

His Test average of 44.44 outside India is more than 36.47 at home and has 8 of his 12 Test hundreds outside India, and a couple of three-figure scores in the IPL as well.

Here we look at 5 of Ajinkya Rahane’s best knocks:

112 vs Australia, Melbourne 2020

Two senior bowlers in Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami not available due to injury, regular captain Virat Kohli unavailable and back home to attend the birth of his child, the team reeling from the shock of the 36 all-out in the first Test in Adelaide – as if the Indian team was set up to lose in Melbourne, to be humiliated again, and the calls of 4-0 whitewash coming from all corners.

Steps in and steps up Ajinkya Rahane, with little argument his best Test century; a knock of his life, of great significance. Rahane led the team to a historic comeback as a captain and with the bat.

In reply to Australia’s first innings total of 195, as India’s bowlers continued their impressive show overseas, the team stuttered at 116/4. Then, soaking in all the pressure, Rahane hit 112 off 223 balls, with support from Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, helping the side to a total of 326, which eventually proved to be a match-winning one. Fittingly, he would hit the winning runs in the second innings chase of 70 runs.

103 vs England, Lord’s 2014

The first Test of the 2014 tour of England ended in a draw. But the horrors of 2011 4-0 whitewash lingered. In the second Test, at the home of cricket, Lord’s, the hosts won the toss and put the visitors in first to bat on a spicy green-ish pitch. The likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Liam Plunkett, and Ben Stokes vindicated England’s decision to reduce India to 145/7.

Ajinkya Rahane, on his first tour to England, held the team then with his sublime century, with support from tailender Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The right-hander scored 103 runs off 154 balls, whereas no other batsman in the top 8 could go past the 30-run mark. He dragged the team to 295. India improved its batting effort in the second innings, and Ishant Sharma’s 7-wicket haul help them register a historic win at Lord’s.

118 vs New Zealand, Wellington 2014

Ajinkya Rahane hit his maiden Test ton on the 2014 tour to New Zealand, his second away tour in the whites. The first Test in Wellington was a see-saw contest, which saw New Zealand get all-out for 192 in the first innings, India put up 438 in reply, but let the advantage slip away as the hosts piled up 680 runs in their second innings courtesy of a triple century by skipper Brendon McCullum. India managed to eke out the draw in their second essay.

In the first innings, after a good start from Shikhar Dhawan, India suffered a middle-order collapse going from 141/2 to 228/6. However, a young Ajinkya Rahane stepped up to the occasion with a hundred of his own. He, in fact, counter-attacked against the Kiwi bowlers, with a 158-ball 118-run knock, batting at a strike rate of 74.68 for his first Test ton.

96 vs South Africa, Durban 2013

Before his first Test century on the New Zealand tour, Ajinkya Rahane had proven his mettle on the South Africa tour, his maiden series outside India.

In the second and the deciding Test of the series, after the first was drawn, India needed a gritty effort from its overseas specialist-to-be to stand up and salvage something from the game where they were staring a loss. And Rahane did delay that with his grinding 96-run knock from 157 balls in the second innings; the next best score in the line-up was 32.

He had hit a half-century in the first innings also, but the hosts took a 10-wicket win and the series.

105 vs DC, Jaipur 2019 IPL

With his heroics in Test cricket, and a fairly low strike rate in T20 cricket, his acumen as a short format batsman is often ignored and less talked about. Ajinkya Rahane has 3941 runs in IPL and has been a regular member in the playing eleven in IPL in the past decade.

He also has two IPL hundreds, the second of which came in the backdrop of being sacked as the captain and replaced by Steve Smith at the Rajasthan Royals, and also not selected in India’s 2019 World Cup squad.

That double blow proved to be the tipping point for him as a game after he was sacked as RR’s skipper, Ajinkya Rahane came out swinging, against his now-team Delhi Capitals, with a clear, attacking mindset, though in his own classical fashion.

After all, there is nothing ugly about Rahane’s batting, even in T20 cricket. There were no two ways about his mood that night as he brought up his second IPL ton off 58 balls.

Also Read: VVS Laxman Calls For The Abolishment Of The Toss From The 1st Match Of A Test Series