England vs India 2018: Ajinkya Rahane Impressed With India's Batting Performance

Team India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane hailed Team India for their impressive batting performance on the opening day of the third Test in Nottingham against England.

After a couple of disappointing performances with the bat in the opening two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s respectively, the Indian batsmen finally came into an act and made a good beginning in the third Test at Trent Bridge.

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul got India off to a superb start.

The dup shared a 60 runs partnership before the fall of Dhawan’s wicket. India lost a couple more quickly as they went to lunch with the score reading 82 for three.

From there on, it was a great partnership between Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Rahane which took India into a commanding position.

Rahane and Virat shared a sensational 179-run partnership which was instrumental in getting India into a comfortable position.

Kohli fell just three runs short of a well deserved century. He was dismissed by Adil Rashid while attempting an expansive cover drive.

Rahane also looked in great touch for his 81. He struck some exceptional shots during his knock and seemed to take on the attack on the English bowlers.

Following their dismissal, the onus was on Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant to take India to a commanding total.

Both started off well. Pant, in particular, carried on from where he left for India A. He smashed his second ball in Test cricket straight over the bowler’s head for a big six.

However, James Anderson dismissed Pandya before the completion of day one.

India would have been a happier unit had they went to Day two with positives. However, still, they will be a more comfortable unit as they managed to register more than 300 runs for the first time in the series.

“I think it’s a good score on this wicket. Me and Virat, we were planning to put pressure on the bowlers. In the end, it was a good score I think,” Rahane said.

 

“We were thinking that if we get a good start and if the top order do well, the middle order can capitalize. That’s what we were doing. Me and Virat were focusing on rotating the strike and put the bad balls to the boundary.” he added.

Following the culmination of the first day between England and India, speaking on Pant’s performance, Ajinkya Rahane stated that the youngster is high on confidence and it showed in his batting on day one.

“He’s been doing well for India A and scoring runs. He’s high on confidence, and that’s what matters in international cricket,” Rahane said.

He also spoke about Ben Stokes‘ bowling, adding that playing him in the IPL helped the Indian batsmen.

“As I spent more time in the middle, I became comfortable. We all know Stokes, he plays with me in the IPL (both the players play for Rajasthan Royals), so that helps I guess. It’s about taking one ball at a time and giving your best. We were looking to bat. First, our intent was positive,” he further added.