Played each ball on its merit, says Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane, speaking on his incredible hundred that helped India post a competitive 290 for 9 at the end of Day 1, said that he was not thinking about the Lord’s honour boards when he was at the crease.
“I was actually a bit nervous last night because I’ve heard so many people say that a century at Lord’s is supposed to be a very special achievement. These thoughts are there somewhere in your head, but today I decided that I will not think about all that and just play the ball on its merit. It worked.
“It’s a great feeling to get a hundred here but I’ll give credit to our top-order batsmen – Vijay, Shikhar, Pujara and Virat. They batted out the crucial part of the day which made things easy for Bhuvi and me later,” said the 26-year-old.
Rahane stitched together a crucial partnerships with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (90) and Mohammed Shami (40) to take India to safety from 145 for 7 to 275 to 9 when he left the field.
Crediting his partners, Rahane said: “Bhuvi is batting so well. Standing at the non-striker’s end I was learning a lot about his batting,” he said. “When he came in to bat, I asked him if he was okay with us taking a single. He said he was perfectly okay. He’s such a confident guy now and is batting so well. So, I completely trusted him as well as Shami. He too batted well.”
The Mumbai-lad said that watching Michael Hussey’s footage helped him bat well with the tail.
“I learned much about batting with the tail during the Durban Test when I got 51* and 96. When I got out on 96 I was thinking about my hundred and went for it. Now I realize that when batting with tailenders, you’ve got to have faith in them. That’s what I did in Wellington and also today.
“It’s challenging batting with tailenders. I’ve been watching Mike Hussey’s videos and learning how he batted with the tailenders. I have learnt a lot speaking with our players as well. Virat (Kohli) batted with tailenders in Australia, (MS) Dhoni bhai has been doing that regularly too. I’ve been talking to them and it has really helped me with regards to this aspect of my batting,” he added.
Rahane, after scoring his second overseas hundred felt that batting on Wankhade pitch moulded his batting to tackle bowler friendly tracks.
“I am actually comfortable batting in overseas conditions. I have played most my cricket on the Wankhede Stadium wicket, which has good bounce and pace and the ball does swing around. So, I enjoy batting on such wickets.”
The right-hander pointed out that England bowlers erred in length and predicted life will not be so easy for his counterparts when they come out to bat.
“In the first session they bowled a little short but came with a different plan in the second session and bowled a fuller length. In the final session again Plunkett was trying to bowl short. I think shorter length balls are going to be a bit easier to play on this wicket than the fuller ones.
“I’m sure our bowlers will learn from this and bowl a fuller length. I’m sure Ishant and Shami will get us 25-30 quick runs and it’s not going to be easy for the England batsmen to bat on this wicket against them,” said Rahane who is becoming an expert in reviving the Indian innings after top order failures.