Ajinkya Rahane can match this MS Dhoni record amongst others in Sydney Test
Ajinkya Rahane has a chance to match former skipper MS Dhoni’s unique record with a win against Australia at Sydney. If India win the Test, Ajinkya Rahane would have won his first 4 Tests as captain.
This would equal MS Dhoni’s record, who won his first 4 matches as Test captain after taking over from Anil Kumble in 2008. MS Dhoni is currently the only Indian skipper to do so, and Ajinkya Rahane could become the second captain to achieve the milestone in Sydney.
Although Ajinkya Rahane has never been a full-time captain, he has stood in for Virat Kohli on 3 occasions in the past.
He won his first Test as captain against Australia in 2017 before beating Afghanistan in their first Test in 2018. That was followed up by the recent Boxing Day Test victory at MCG. Interestingly, Ajinkya Rahane's side had beaten Australia by 8 wickets on both occasions.
Ajinkya Rahane led from the front in Kohli’s absence
Many predicted Ajinkya Rahane to struggle after taking over in disastrous circumstances. But he admirably led from the front in Melbourne. He also notched up an impressive century in the first innings and scored the winning runs in the second.
Ajinkya Rahane backed his bowlers brilliantly and was on point with his field placements as well. From changing bowlers at the right time to supporting the debutants Siraj and Gill, Ajinkya Rahane was the perfect mix of calm and aggression over the four days.
Rahane can reach several other milestones in Sydney as well
Although matching MS Dhoni’s record as skipper would be huge for Ajinkya Rahane, he has the opportunity to reach several other batting milestones as well.
Only 4 batsmen have scored 1,000 Test runs in Australia, with Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the list with 1809 runs in 20 matches. However, with 797 runs in 10 matches to his name, Ajinkya Rahane can become just the 5th batsman to score 1,000 Test runs on Australian soil.
The middle-order batsman is known for being a patient customer at the crease. His ability to spend long hours in the middle has helped India in overseas conditions several times over the past few years. The batsman’s proficiency in foreign conditions is evident in his record.
If he gets going in Sydney, Ajinkya Rahane can become just the 10th Indian batsman to score at least 3,000 runs in overseas Tests. He currently has 2891 runs in 40 matches away from home at an impressive average of 45.88, which is better than the average of Virat Kohli (44.23) and VVS Laxman (42.49) amongst others.