Will be accused of backing Mumbaikar if I praise Rahane's captaincy: Sunil Gavaskar

Inside out | Ajinkya Rahane shows character to own the MCG yet again

Ajinkya Rahane was the fifth man to go in the mayhem that the Australian bowlers had creed on the third and final day of the Adelaide Test, and while walking back to the pavilion a thought about where does he go with the bat in the series and impact of another bad series overseas must have crossed crossed his mind. Nevertheless, he was the vice-captain and was to lead the side as Virat Kohli’s tour was over after the first Test. There was a sense of calamity after the debacle in Adelaide, and more worryingly for Rahane, he was seeming as part of the problem, not solutions as India were staring for another gruelling contest that the Boxing Day Test was offering from the outset. His worries were deepened by the injury to Mohammed Shami as he could have been all the mainstays of the team falling away as he was about to lead that team in the next three Test matches against the Australian who were smelling blood. There were arguments about him taking the more aggressive option when facing dilemmas and the injury to Shami and Kohli’s inevitable return confronted him with a lot of dilemmas. He vindicated the experts and fans who were calling him an ‘aggressive captain’ by picking five bowlers, even at the expense of Wriddhiman Saha, who has been rated as the best gloveman in the country. He backed the duo of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to come good while Hanuma Vihari was trusted to bind the innings together at the number. Rahane opted to promote himself, walking away from the subtle hints he had dropped in the tour games when Vihari was batting ahead of him in the batting order in a move that appeared like he were to replace Kohli at the number four position. All these moves even before the first ball was bowled justified the praise he has been getting for being an ‘aggressive captain.’ The day two of the game confronted him with yet another challenge as both Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill got dismissed fairly early in the day and he was back to grind in the middle, after his short stay in the seconds innings of the Adelaide Test. There must have been dilemmas in his mind about approaching his innings against the on fire pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood and to make the matter worse for him at the start of the innings in his head, he also had to counter Nathan Lyon who has celebrated a good amount of success against him. It would have been tempting for him to attempt a counter attacking start and see if it can survive through the early phase of belligerence, to settle down for a big one as the Australians threatened to not to allow any let up in the bowling attack. This Australian attack goes relentlessly at batsmen, and they don’t give away easy runs for the batsmen to run away with the game, and Rahane would have well realised the fact in the first innings of the Adelaide Test when he and Virat Kohli were squeezed for runs by the Australian attack. Had he gone by the popular belief about him, he would have attacked the bowlers. But, he looked circumspect, but importantly, more decisive in his footwork than in his previous Test innings overseas. He was tested outside the off stump but he was not willing to take the bait and opened his account only on the 17th ball he faced while his first boundary came off on the 27th delivery. At least at the start of the innings, Rahane defied the popular belief about him knowing only aggressive game when facing a tough challenge. He dared to wait for his moment rather than trying to create one and believed in his defence to combat whatever the raging bowling attack had to offer and for a period of their maximum perseverance. His fortitude and reluctance to play expensive shots could have left India in a bubble, but Rishabh Pant came in handy for both him and India as his swashbuckling shots broke the flow of the game towards India. When Pant departed, India were just 22 runs away from Australia's score, but Rahane looked in no hurry to bridge that gap and rather he was batting in his zone and had a bigger picture of having a substantive lead over Australia in his mind. As the state of play approached towards the second new ball, Rahane was calm to confront yet another challenge as he was there in the middle when the new Kookaburra had wreaked havoc against him and his teammates in Adelaide on Day 1. There was no let up this time though as his efforts of putting his head down in the initial phase of the innings started to pay off against the new ball. Australians went desperate in search of wickets as the lead started growing over and bowled deliveries in the absolute full zone to extract the maximum assistance off the pitch and in the air. Tim Paine would have hoped for a similar return to what Starc could offer in Adelaide, but Rahane had found his feet and was not sitting back in the crease. Rahane showed his supremacy and showcased the zone he was batting when Cummins lured him with really full deliveries in the 82th over and Rahane was sublime in his riposte with nice strides down the pitch of the ball to time the ball in his trademark fashion past midd off. He forced Cummins to shorten his length and when the number one pacer in the world did oblige on the next ball, Rahane stood on his toes to send a signal to the his dressing room that he version of him which was highly celebrated for strokemaking on tough pitches against quality pace attacks, was back in reckoning. When Rahane was batting in his prime, the off drives and punch through cover were the main weapon in his arsenal and he started to flourish again at the MCG, where he had dominated Mitchell Johnson when even Virat Kohli was rattled by the left-arm pacer. Rahane was also very unlucky in his heydays and got jaffs from bowlers to get dismissed in unfortunate manners, and on the day when all were at stake for him and his team, the god returned all those favours as Australians dropped catches, one after another. When Cummins offered him width in the 88th over, he was quick to pounce on it and with that reached a century he and his fans will always rejoice given the plot, the backdrop, and the context of his career coming into this game. Hazlewood followed Cummins in the next over, and bowled a full length delivery to check if he had lost control in the euphoria of completing his 12th century, but he the Rahane was batting in sublime form, and that his sumptuous drive was out to drive the ball through cover for, showed nothing that he is more hungry and yet to be finished in this innings. Rahane answered all his critics and the questions of his place in the Indian team in the most characteristic ways of his batting and in leading his side well for the first two days of the second Test. One can be called a true leader only if they can sail their team and group of subordinates out of a crisis. Fair to say, Rahane has passed on both accounts and if Australian batsmen continue their lackluster frms with the bat, he can also help India earn back the respect and chance to retain the Border Gavaskar series in Melbourne.

Rahane hundred puts Australia under the pump

Ajinkya Rahane led from the front by churning out a lion-hearted ton as India finished day two on 277/5, a prolific 82 ahead of Australia's 195.

AUS vs IND: Twitter lit up with praise of Ajinkya Rahane's hundred at MCG

Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane scored a masterful hundred on the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG to lead India's dominance over the hosts. Rahane had walked in to bat after the fall of Shubman Gill and when Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed by a screamer of a catch behind the stump, India’s chances were heavily reliant on Rahane’s shoulders and he responded brilliantly to the situation in hand. After the fall of Pujaa, Rahane combined with Hanuma Vihari to stitch a partnership of 52 runs to bring India back in the momentum after a tough first hour of play. The next man in Rishabh Pant batted fluently and with Rahane India were flourishing yet again with a stand of 57 runs. At the end of day’s play, Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja were involved in an unbeaten partnership of 104 runs to put India firmly ahead of the hosts as the game now goes into the day three. Rahane’s riposte to the situation and the questions on his batting form and credentials as the leader of the team was brilliant and Twitter was set abuzz when he hit his second century at the MCG.

AUS vs IND: Mitchell Starc reaches milestone of 250 Test wickets

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc claimed his 250th Test wickets on the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. He reached the milestone dismissing Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant caught by his captain Tim Paine. His achievement has come in the 509th Test, at an astounding average-strike rate combination of 26.68 and 47.9 respectively. With the wicket of pant, Starc has entered the elite club of Australian bowlers to have taken 250 or more Test wickets and he becomes the only 9th man to do so. The fastest bowler to reach the milestone was Dennis Lille who reached the 25-mark in 48 Tests, while both Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne was the second-fastest to the 250 wickets landmark in 55 Tests. However, Starc’s strike rate of 47.9 is significantly better than his predecessors. On the second day of the Test, India surpassed the first innings total of Australia--195 and Starc’s wicket came in handy for the host as Pant was threatening to take the game away from the hosts.