IND vs AUS 2020: "All about bowling towards a plan"- Ajinkya Rahane on the eve of the Melbourne Test
India's stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane emphasised the importance of batting and bowling in partnerships before the start of the second Test in Melbourne. The 32-year-old talked about how both bowlers and batsmen will have to back their basics and stay positive after the debacle in the first Test.
India were humbled inside three days of the day-night Test in Adelaide after being in a good position for the first two days of the game. The Men in Blue were bowled out for their lowest Test total ever (36). To make matters worse, the visitors will be without Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami for the rest of the series.
When asked about the bowling workload of Jasprit Bumrah after the injury to Shami, Ajinkya Rahane said:
"Jasprit is a quality bowler, and he has been doing well for us. Apart from Jasprit, Umesh and another guy will play instead of Shami tomorrow; they are all equally talented. Umesh has been doing well for so many years. It's all about bowling in partnerships and bowling towards a plan.''
India's bowling did its job well in the first innings of the first Test in Adelaide, as it restricted Australia to 191. The home team could have been limited to an even lower score if the Indian fielders had taken all the catches that came their way.
'Got to back our basics' - Ajinkya Rahane on batting preparation
Batting seems to be a big worry for Team India, but Ajinkya Rahane says that the visitors haven't done anything special after their spectacular second innings implosion in the first Test in Adelaide.
''Nothing really special. We got to back our basics and back our plans. As I said, we just had one bad hour. So, it's all about staying positive, backing your own ability and batting in partnerships as a batting unit that really matters a lot. Communication and batting in partnerships: we are focusing on that,'' said Ajinkya Rahane.