I Watched Sachin Tendulkar's 116 As Captain In 1999 On The Eve And Morning of MCG Test: Ajinkya Rahane

India Test vice-captain has revealed that he watched Sachin Tendulkar’s famous 116 ten times on eve of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, and 6-7 times again in the morning of the game before his stunning century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Tendulkar had scored the famous hundred as captain at the same venue in 1999.

India were in dire need of a good performance after a humiliating collapse in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval where they were all out for just 36 and lost the game by eight wickets. With Virat Kohli returning home after the first Test to attend the birth of his first child, the onus was on Ajinkya Rahane to deliver the goods at the MCG.

And the stand-in skipper led from the very front. He played a stunning knock of 112, helping India thrash the hosts by eight wickets and draw level in the four-match series. India went on to draw the third Test before winning the fourth to clinch the series in style.

“I saw Sachin’s innings in which he got a hundred at the MCG when he was the captain. I got 116 in that game, I was watching his innings. I watched it 10 times on the previous night and the morning of the game around 6-7 times. He and Dravid are my role models,” Ajinkya Rahane was quoted as saying by India Today.

The right-handed batsman will be seen in action next month during the home Test series against England. The four-match Test series is scheduled to start on February 5 in Chennai. India have already announced the squads for the first two Tests. After the Test series, both the teams will play five T20Is and three ODIs.

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