IND vs ENG 2021: “Ajinkya Rahane looked fidgety out in the middle” - Aakash Chopra
Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra has opined that India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane seemed restless during his short innings on Day 2 of the Nottingham Test against England. Rahane was out for 5 as India lost their way after an assured start.
The Indian batsman could have been back in the pavilion without scoring as he tried to take a quick single by playing a ball to the right of cover earlier. Rahane was ball-watching and a direct hit would have sent him back. He was eventually run out following a mix-up with KL Rahul.
Looking back at Rahane’s innings, Chopra stated that the experienced cricketer just didn’t seem assured while at the crease. He said:
“Ajinkya Rahane is the vice-captain of the Indian Test team. He has a lot of experience in the format. So the expectations from him were to score runs. But he just looked fidgety out in the middle. He could have got run out early as he looked to get off the mark with a risky single. Luckily, Rahane got some extra runs with overthrows.”
Chopra also opined that Rahul had no role to play in Rahane’s dismissal and it was the latter who made the wrong move. The former opener added:
“Looking at Rahane’s eventual run out, I don’t feel KL Rahul had called for a run. He never went even halfway but Rahane, at the other end, had already taken off. There was never a run in it. Had the two batsmen tried for a single, there was a run out possibility at both ends."
"Rahane eventually tried to scamper back but the direct hit caught him well short. Even if it wasn’t a direct hit, there was a fielder waiting near the stumps to run Rahane out. The needless dismissal left India stuttering. They had already lost Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara cheaply.”
Ajinkya Rahane’s wretched run with the bat continues
Rahane’s cheap dismissal on Thursday was the latest in a growing list of failures with the bat for the Indian vice-captain. He was out for 49 and 15 in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton.
Against England at home, Rahane managed 112 runs in four Tests and averaged less than 20 runs per innings. Out of those 112 runs, 67 came in one innings.
Since the start of 2020, the 33-year-old has scored 540 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 27. Apart from the Boxing Day hundred against Australia, he has done little of note with the willow.