India Vs West Indies: I Really Wanted To Make It Count: Ajinkya Rahane

Before the West Indies series, Ajinkya Rahane was looking set to spend a good amount of time warming the bench in One-Day Internationals after failing to impress in the ample chances he was given. The 29-year old was given a chance to prove his worth in the New Zealand series when he was asked to open the series but he could manage only 143 runs in 5 matches.  And with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan looking in supreme form in the Champions Trophy, he was looking destined to warm the bench for a long time. However, the much-needed opportunity came for him when the team management rested Rohit for the West Indies series and the Mumbai batsman has fully capitalised on it.

In the first four matches, he scored three half-centuries and a century before falling short of another half-century by 11 runs in the final ODI on Thursday (July 6). India won the series 3-1 with an impressive 8-wicket win in the fifth ODI and Rahane deservedly won the Man of the Series award for playing a big part in the win.

Speaking at the post match conference, he said:  “I really wanted to make it count. I wanted to enjoy my batting. Even in the Champions Trophy I was batting very well in the nets, and I really wanted to make it count here. This wicket was slightly better than the last two venues. The ball was coming nicely on to the bat – this was the best wicket to bat on. As I mentioned, I just wanted to enjoy my batting. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself. One-day cricket is all about expressing yourself, and converting starts into a big one. Even in the future I want to enjoy myself and score some big ones.”