WTC Final: Ajinkya Rahane Unlocks a Milestone, Joins Indian Greats in an Elite List
Ajinkya Rahane in action [Source: AP]
In a remarkable turn of events, experienced Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane completed 5000 runs in Test cricket during India's first innings in the ongoing World Test Championship final against Australia. Rahane, who helped his side breach the 200-run mark through a flamboyant half-century, became the thirteenth Indian batter to achieve the aforementioned feat, joining an elite league of batters in this process.
Most Test runs for India
- Sachin Tendulkar: 15921 runs in 200 matches
- Rahul Dravid: 13265 runs in 163 matches
- Sunil Gavaskar: 10122 runs in 125 matches
- VVS Laxman: 8781 runs in 134 matches
- Virender Sehwag: 8503 runs in 103 matches
- Virat Kohli: 8430 runs in 109 matches
- Sourav Ganguly: 7212 runs in 113 matches
- Cheteshwar Pujara: 7168 runs in 103 matches
- Dilip Vengsarkar: 6868 runs in 116 matches
- Mohammad Azharuddin: 6215 runs in 99 matches
- Gundappa Vishwanath: 6080 runs in 91 matches
- Kapil Dev: 5248 runs in 131 matches
- Ajinkya Rahane: 5000* runs in 83 matches
Rahane enjoyed a stellar run at the beginning of his Test career, emerging as India's most dependable batter in his first overseas cycle. However, his inconsistency proved fatal for him, eventually losing him his spot in the national side.
But as they say, comebacks are greater than setbacks; the stylish batter from Mumbai rejuvenated his career in style by making a comeback into the Test side following an impressive domestic season. Although some people raised eyebrows at his selection, the veteran cricketer silenced them by playing a magnificent knock in the ultimate Test.
Despite Rahane's fighting knock, India are still in a spot of bother, reeling at 234 for six at the time of writing. With only four wickets in hand, they need 236 more runs to go past Australia's first innings total of 469, which seems an improbable task at the moment.
 "Debashis Sarangi")
