Ajinkya Rahane - A good man in a storm
Ajinkya Rahane has to be the most frustrating batsman in the world to watch.
When in form, he presents a picturesque sight that can be emulated by very few players in the history of the world. Every swing of the bat is geometric perfection. Every punch down the ground is an exercise in poise. There is an elegance to him.
But unlike the lazy elegance of Rohit Sharma or the militant elegance of Virat Kohli or even the serene elegance displayed by Cheteshwar Pujara, his is a brand of steadfast, assertive elegance that slowly chips at the opponents' willpower and pulls the rug out from under their feet without any bells and whistles.
Rahane, when in form, is the guy you want playing for your side when you are in trouble. A good man in a storm. Especially at No.5 where the role of the batter is not only to consolidate a winning position but also to drop anchor and prevent a loss from happening, and especially for a team whose tail is not going to wag 9 times out of 10.
There is no denying that Rahane is the quintessential test batsman. He might not be flashy enough to reverse sweep Jimmy Anderson or nonchalant enough to pull a bouncer knowing fully that there is a deep fine leg.
But then you see him edging a ball that ought to have been left alone or going for a drive fully knowing he is being set up and you cannot help but pull your hair out in abject exasperation.
Because like others of the same calibre, the criticism of Ajinkya Rahane is a by-product of his own success.
Because we've seen him so fluent, it is doubly agonizing when he isn't. Because we've seen him so composed, it is harder to digest when he isn't. Because we've seen him grind bowling attacks out until they're lifeless husks, so it's easier to criticize when he chooses not to.
I say "chooses not to" and not "doesn't", because that's what it looks like when Rahane gets out. You find yourself yelling at the screen, "Why, oh why did you poke at that ball?" You find yourself wondering why this man, who looks the picture of concentration and unperturbed by anything up until that point, gets out to a nothing ball.
This is why we are, for the most part, understanding of Rishabh Pant getting out for 30's and 40's after a couple of swats to the boundary, but when Rahane does the same, we groan like old men and complain like petulant children. We are human, and we are always nostalgic.
Even in this match, where Rahane and Pujara almost - almost - looked like their old selves in their 2nd innings and hung in there like stalwarts, you'd be justified in feeling disappointed at Rahane's dismissal, a tame nick to the keeper off Moeen Ali.
An innings in which he was magnificent otherwise and middled everything right from his very first ball. An innings he badly needed. An innings India badly needed.
Despite all the heroes of this game - KL Rahul with his beautiful century, Rohit's imposing first innings knock, Mohammed Shami's surreal batting and Bumrah and Siraj bowling their hearts out with so much feistiness and purpose - let us not forget that it was Rahane (along with Pujara) who arrested the momentum from swinging further towards England.
Let us not forget that without that single 50 ball partnership that consumed almost 250 balls, this result would have been much, much different.
Fact of the matter is, when Rahane comes good, India wins. Or rather, India doesn't lose. Out of his 12 Test centuries, 9 have come in a winning cause and the others have come in drawn games.
Out of the 3 draws, one came against New Zealand, where Brendon McCullum scored that mammoth triple century. One winning century came against Australia in the recent Border-Gavaskar trophy, right after India had lost their captain Kohli and right after they'd been bundled out for a humiliating 36 in the previous innings. One came at the famous win at Lord's in 2014.
The right man in the right place can make all the difference in the world, and India should consider itself lucky that it has Ajinkya Rahane to fall back on when things go from bad to worse. We have others too, don't get me wrong, but somewhere in there is also Rahane, smiling and steadfast.