Team India batter Ajinkya Rahane produced an excellent performance in the first innings of the World Test Championship final, top-scoring with 89 to take India to a competitive score. Rahane held one end after India faced a disappointing batting collapse early in the innings, and forged a brilliant 109-run partnership alongside Shardul Thakur (51), taking India to 296 in the first innings after the Aussies scored a mammoth 469.
Rahane had been away from the Indian team since January last year; he was dropped from the side following a series of inconsistent performances. Since then, the 35-year-old batter produced outstanding knocks in the domestic seasons, and also played key knocks for the Chennai Super Kings en route to their title triumph in the 2023 Indian Premier League last month.
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The India batter earned praise from fans and former cricketers alike after he brought certain tweaks in his game; Rahane didn't shy away from taking on the Australian pacers despite India losing key wickets in the first innings. In fact, Rahane smashed his half-century with a six over the fine leg boundary against Pat Cummins, and ended his innings with an impressive strike rate of 68.99.
Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers was also mightily impressed with Rahane's batting, and took to his official Twitter profile to praise the India senior batter. At the end of Day 2 of the Test, when Rahane had stayed unbeaten on 29, de Villers stated that he had “never” seen the India star batting like the way he did in the final.
{{/usCountry}}Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers was also mightily impressed with Rahane's batting, and took to his official Twitter profile to praise the India senior batter. At the end of Day 2 of the Test, when Rahane had stayed unbeaten on 29, de Villers stated that he had “never” seen the India star batting like the way he did in the final.
{{/usCountry}}“I’ve never seen Rahane move so well! Technique is sound and playing it late,” the former South Africa batter wrote in reply to broadcaster Harsha Bhogle, who had also praised Rahane.
Rahane also braved severe body blows against the Australia pacers, and also injured his finger during his stay on the crease. However, during an interview following the end of Day 3, the batter insisted he won't be having much difficulty batting in the second innings