[Watch] Ajinkya Rahane has his name engraved on MCG Honours Board for the second time
Following his captain’s knock of 112 in the Boxing Day Test against Australia, Ajinkya Rahane got his name engraved on the MCG Honours Board for the second time.
Rahane's century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground gave India a decisive first-innings lead, which eventually allowed the visitors to level the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1.
BCCI’s official Twitter account shared the proud moment of Ajinkya Rahane’s name being put up on the honours board. Watch video below:
The MCG honours board features names of cricketers who have either scored a century or picked up a five-wicket haul at the famous venue.
Before Ajinkya Rahane, New Zealand’s Tom Blundell was the last batsman to have his name engraved on the MCG Honours Board following his 121 in December 2019.
Ajinkya Rahane had featured on the MCG Honours Board for the first time following his 147 during the 2014 Boxing Day Test. Other famous Indian batsmen part of the hallowed list are Vinoo Mankad, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Prominent Indian bowlers too have their names engraved on the MCG Honours Board. Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Jasprit Bumrah have all claimed five-wicket hauls at the MCG.
Ajinkya Rahane’s love affair with Melbourne
India's stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane has a sensational record at the MCG. In three Tests at the venue, the 32-year-old has scored 369 runs at an average of 73.80, with two hundreds.
Rahane hit 147 and 48 during his first Test in Melbourne in 2014. During India’s memorable win in 2018, he contributed only 34 and 1.
However, under pressure following the Adelaide disaster in the first Test of this series, Rahane led from the front with scores of 112 and 27 not out as India ended 2020 with a win.
During the course of his hundred in Melbourne, Ajinkya Rahane overtook Virat Kohli as India’s second-highest run-getter at the venue.
Kohli has scored 316 runs in three Tests at the MCG at an average of 52.66. This includes one hundred and two fifties.
Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-getter for India at the MCG, with 449 runs in five games at an average of 44.90. The record includes one hundred and three fifties.
With his second hundred at the MCG, Ajinkya Rahane also joined Vinoo Mankad as the only Indians to have scored two Test centuries at the venue.