Why the hundred against South Africa at Ranchi is extremely important for Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane patted the ball to point with soft hands, ran the single hard and as he went to the non-striker's end on day two of the third Test match between India and South Africa, there was a look of immense relief on his face. For the first time in three years, Rahane had registered a Test hundred on home soil. The Indian Test team vice-captain was involved in a match-altering partnership with the mercurial Rohit Sharma and his knock of 115 played a pivotal role in India seizing advantage in the match.
Rahane was at his fluid best in this knock. At the start of the innings, he was watchful, playing the ball with soft hands, but as the time he spent in the crease increased, so did his confidence. When the diminutive strokemaker whipped Kagiso Rabada with elegance past mid-wicket he began toying with the South African bowling.
When Rahane is at his best, he looks extremely pleasing to the eye. The head is steady, the swing of the bat is smooth and the weight is transferred on either foot with ease. His solid back foot punch off left arm spinner George Linde signalled that Rahane was indeed in his element. He did not shy away from playing his shots and played with a sense of freedom and spirit.
Pivotal for confidence
Rahane had got starts in this series with scores of 15, 27 and 59*, but was unable to kick on and get a big score. And that is why, today’s hundred against the Proteas would have been extremely satisfying for Rahane. For, this three-figure knock would have instilled confidence in himself and would have tremendously increased his self-belief. His lengthy run of poor form had even begun talks of him being dropped from the Test team before the classy batsman resurrected his career in the last two series. In this context, the century assumes even more significance.
Rahane was the only top-order batsman to miss out in the first two Tests as the likes of Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli had helped themselves to huge scores. Rahane was the only one who had not yet cashed in, and he corrected this anomaly with a gorgeously-crafted hundred.
Rahane is just 31 years old and still has plenty of cricket left in him. And, if he can show the same attitude that he showed today against South Africa, he can play many more match-winning innings for India and stake claim to being one of the most prominent members of the Indian batting line-up.
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