India vs England 2021: Indian Team Will Value Ajinkya Rahane's Knock In The Second Test A Lot - Dinesh Karthik

Wicket-keeper batsman, Dinesh Karthik feels that while Ajinkya Rahane is not the most consistent of batters – such as someone like Virat Kohli – however, whenever the team is in trouble the vice-captain stands up and delivers well.

Karthik lavished praise on Ajinkya Rahane’s 67 off 149 balls in the second Test of the ongoing series against England in Chennai; after losing three wickets inside a session, Rahane joined hands with Rohit Sharma to bail the team out of trouble with a brilliant 161-run partnership as the opener went on to notch up a hundred.

Dinesh Karthik, who recently took the Tamil Nadu state team to title victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, maintains that Rahane should be given a lot of credit for his knock amidst notable performances of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and R Ashwin.

“Every team has certain players doing certain roles. There’s a Virat Kohli and a Cheteshwar Pujara, who have been extremely consistent over a period of time. And then, you get players like Ajinkya Rahane who haven’t been as consistent.

But, what they do is, when the team is under the pump in tough conditions, when the ball is moving, they always find performances that help the country win. And that is always given a lot of weightage. He (Ajinkya Rahane) has played a lot of important knocks at difficult junctures for the Indian team. In most of the cases, the team has gone on to win,” Dinesh Karthik told Sportskeeda.

“Rohit Sharma got 161, but Ajinkya Rahane put up a partnership of a good number that put India in the driver’s seat. On a rank turner, to go out there with your captain and Pujara out…, you’ve got to give a lot of credit and value to these things. Knowing the Indian team, they value these knocks a lot,” he added.

Rahane’s hundred in Melbourne set the tone for the series win in Australia: Dinesh Karthik

The former KKR captain lavished praise on Rahane’s ton at the MCG against Australia by saying that it was probably the most important knock by an Indian player away from home. Dinesh Karthik asserted that after losing the first Test and with Kohli not available, Rahane led from the front with an exemplary performance as India went on to clinch the series.

“With Virat (Kohli), one of the world’s premier batsman leaving, I thought the team would suffer. But the other guys stood up and made massive contributions. Ajinkya Rahane’s hundred in Melbourne was probably the most important innings an Indian has played abroad. That set the tone and the belief for the rest of the team. Some special performances came about from then on,” the 35-year-old further added.

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