Ajinkya Rahane appreciation thread

[Texan]

Find of the tour for me! Had a very rough start to his career thanks to Dhoni's inexplicable selection policies around his selection. This tour was kind of a last chance. Against the world's best Test team and best bowling attack in their own backyard, Rahane has stood up against all odds and proved his mettle. Hats off! :hatsoff: A long way to go, but here's a man for the future.

[Cricketics]

Where Kohli and Pujara took the limelight on being the best players on tour, he was our savour down the line up. Brilliant player. Always expcected him to do well in test. Glad he got his opportunit and he has earned it.

[Texan]

Rahane showcases his No. 6 mettle On this trip to South Africa, Ajinkya Rahane has taken blows from Dale Steyn bouncers that have not got up as expected, making his ducking technique look ungainly. He has also shown too much deference to a senior bowler who has shown scant respect for the specialist batsmen batting at the other end. He has paid for it, being stranded on 51, and possibly with a series defeat. Rahane also got India two run-outs to save the team in Johannesburg. He also cut Vernon Philander for a six in Durban. For a man who had spent many a tour and series warming up the bench, carrying drinks, wondering when his opportunity will come, he has taken his chance with both hands, even though it arrived in the most difficult of conditions to bat in. Over the past 10 days of cricket, you can see Rahane has grown as a batsman. India knew they had Virat kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara; Rahane might just be their biggest gain from this Test series. Rahane has gone about his work in a quiet unassuming fashion. Much like his batting. Most importantly, though, he has shown ticker. Even when he was taking those blows in the first innings from Steyn, and the verbals that came with it, Rahane didn't play a soft shot. He battled on, though it was questionable to give Zaheer Khan the strike with five deliveries to go in a Steyn over. Sure enough, two wickets fell in those five balls, including a dreadful swipe from Zaheer first up. It made you wonder if No. 6, a position which requires a strong personality and big-hitting when batting with the tail, was the place for him. In the second innings, Rahane showed it was. He was clear in raising his hand to Zaheer, who wanted to the singles, sending him back to the non-striker's end. When the need arose for the big hits, Rahane got them successfully away even with eight fielders back. That cut for six, which took Rahane from 90 to 96, is not what many have seen in a Test in Durban. Rahane might have missed out on the hundred, but he showed versatility: resolute defence, concentration, firmness to farm strikes with seniors, willingness to look ugly in the pursuit of scoring runs, and big hitting when needed. Rahane was India's only highlight on a bleak final day of what had otherwise been a decent series for them. "Rahane batted really well," captain MS Dhoni said. "[While] he was with us on bench, he kept working hard on fitness and technique, and how he wanted to approach his game. So when he got his chance, the most important thing was to accept it and do well. In this Test series has batted really well. Looked quite compact in all the innings. That's a big positive for us." Rahane finished as India's third-highest run-getter in the series, but he was in the most precarious position of all before the series began. He is not picked for ODIs, which gives him no buffer if he fails in the Tests. He has had no soft launching pad. Like Kohli in the West Indies and Australia, he has had his first real series in testing conditions. Kohli was dropped after that West Indies tour in 2011 after he had some trouble with the short ball. Kohli has previously said that axing was a big lesson for him. This 96 has made sure Rahane will not have to bounce back like Kohli had to. Especially not if he keeps wearing those blows as medals and keeps coming back up for more.

[diga]

really looked self assured in all 4 innings.. Should bat higher than Rohit for sure. May be even higher than Kohli in NZ/SA/Eng

[eternalhope]

Always believed he would come good. Always thought he was being wasted on the bench. Both at the first class level and the Intl level, he always struggles when he comes back after being benched. He used to struggle in the first couple of first class matches after he returned from the INTL assignments where he used to be confined to the bench. I saw this pattern regularly, but luckily for us he got this chance from the first test itself. As a batsman I rate him better than Rohit when team in crisis.

[CommonMan]

Look all ye boot lickers, This is called CLASS! Give me my ID card.

[dangerman1985]

He also got two important run-outs in the first test match which helped India to save the match.

[fineleg]

Msd used to give him an odd game or two and bench him series after series after series on bench. No ranji or domestics, just carry drinks and on bench. Bench aboozed by msd big time for odis also becos "we are playing the same 11" mule

[Texan]

Msd used to give him an odd game or two and bench him series after series after series on bench. No ranji or domestics, just carry drinks and on bench. Bench aboozed by msd big time for odis also becos "we are playing the same 11" mule

It reflects even more on Rahane's character that he was still able to succeed despite having a captain that was determined to see him fail.

[Cricketics]

Msd used to give him an odd game or two and bench him series after series after series on bench. No ranji or domestics, just carry drinks and on bench. Bench aboozed by msd big time for odis also becos "we are playing the same 11" mule

To be honest, Rahane didn't make most of his opportunity in Odi's early. Rahane toured even England and couldn't convert starts. He was still better than Rohit though. I am glad he has found his strength in test though. This will help him in Odi's too if he ever gets picked.

[sscomp32]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nKljyjmJw]Ajinkya Rahane scores magnificent 96 runs[/ame]

[BeautifulGame]

Rahane was hardly hard done by in tests.He was behind Kohli and Pujara in the pecking order and duly given chance when a spot opened up during Aus series.The only time he would have felt hard done by is when Rohit was picked ahead of him in WI series but was assured of the spot vacated by Sachin for this SA series. He definitely should feel hard done by in ODIs though.Deserves a long run at no.4 now that Yuvi is dropped. His composure is really assuring and should definitely stay at no 6 .His technique seems better than Rohit and will be vital against 2nd new ball overseas.Finally a quality no:6 after having to put up with Raina in tests for years

[gakgupta]

Rahane was hardly hard done by in tests.He was behind Kohli and Pujara in the pecking order and duly given chance when a spot opened up during Aus series.The only time he would have felt hard done by is when Rohit was picked ahead of him in WI series but was assured of the spot vacated by Sachin for this SA series. He definitely should feel hard done by in ODIs though.Deserves a long run at no.4 now that Yuvi is dropped. His composure is really assuring and should definitely stay at no 6 .His technique seems better than Rohit and will be vital against 2nd new ball overseas.Finally a quality no:6 after having to put up with Raina in tests for years

Sure has a long career ahead of him......He is pure class and if he can put his head down and bend it, then he can achieve a lot. No:3 batsmen for me but unfortunately it's occupied.

[zaqw222222]

Was really impressed by him. Hope he continues his form

[King Tendulkar]

Did superb. This after dhobi has tries to ruin rahane. Selectors constantly picked him in squads, yet dhobi would never pick him and made him carry drinks for a years. Clear dhobi was trying to ruin him(trying same with yadav now). I am not sure how rahane stayed sane, must have been on suicide watch at times. Tremendous mental strength to come and take his chance and give a mighty one finger to dhoni. I would make rahane skipper so can extract revenge on Dhoni.

[G_B_]

Rahane has been very poorly handled by Fletcher/Dhoni (i dont know who among them calls the shots or has more input) Its not just tests. He has a lot to offer in the T20s and the Odis as well. As an opener. Now they want to make him play at 4 is another IMO bad call. Your talking about somebody who was the leading run scorer in the champions league recently concluded and has been an outstanding opener for RR in the past 2 editions of the IPL. Picking up some 8-9 MOM awards in the process. Instead India are opening with Rohit Sharma who bats at 4 for MI in the IPL. Rahane is the sort of person who needs to be initially handled with care before he can blossom. That 96, the only reason he was out is cause he wanted to hit out. Otherwise handled Steyn extremely well and was man enough to take I would like the team management and Dhoni to say. Look Ajinkiya, we are going to give you the entire year, which means 2 tests in NZ, 5 in England and 4 in Aus for you to cement yourself as India's permanent number 6. If you fail then its fair that we give somebody else a chance to establish themselves. You do that then he will blossom. Again coming back to the IPL. Rahane was just not backed at Mumbai by Sachin to seal the opening spot. Dravid backed him at RR and he gave the returns. Even at RR under Warne Rahane did not do well. The bottomline is simple. Rahane is not the sort of batsman who will grap his chance at the first go. It will take him 4-5 chances and then he will get going. He remains a long term investment.

[kaptaan]

aloazIMLDnk

[Texan]

Rahane has been very poorly handled by Fletcher/Dhoni (i dont know who among them calls the shots or has more input)

It's Dhoni, not Fletcher. In sub-continental teams, coaches have hardly any say in team selection matters. The captains dominate such decisions. Fletcher would not intervene because he's familiar with what happened to Greg Chappell when he tried to interfere with team selection. Dhoni tried his best to make Rahane fail. Keeping him on bench for a couple of years and then giving him an odd match when he is completely out of match practice and then using the first opportunity to drop him. It just goes to show that Rahane is a tough cricketer and is able to thrive in adversity.

[Number]

It's Dhoni, not Fletcher. In sub-continental teams, coaches have hardly any say in team selection matters. The captains dominate such decisions. Fletcher would not intervene because he's familiar with what happened to Greg Chappell when he tried to interfere with team selection. Dhoni tried his best to make Rahane fail. Keeping him on bench for a couple of years and then giving him an odd match when he is completely out of match practice and then using the first opportunity to drop him. It just goes to show that Rahane is a tough cricketer and is able to thrive in adversity.

Why would he do that. I am not a fan of Dhoni, but that's baseless allegation. In the ODI team there were no vacant places, in the long run that he was given 5 ODIs in England and 5 ODIs in India, he failed to make any sort of impact.

[dulker]

we gt 2 Dravids in Rahane & Pujara. but dey aint nutn comprd to 10dlkr plsssssssssssssss cum bak!!!!!!!!!!!!!u wud hav slappd stinky steyn!!!!!!!!!