Ajinkya Rahane replicates huge MS Dhoni feat after historic Boxing Day Test win

After a disastrous outing in Adelaide, Team India, in absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli levelled the four-match Test series by beating Australia in the second Test by eight wickets on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 70 to win the match, skipper Rahane and debutant Shubman Gill stitched a 51-run partnership to take India to victory. The win was also India's fourth in 14 Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, making it their most successful venue on foreign soil.

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Under Ajinkya Rahane's leadership, Indian bowlers completely rattled the Australian batting lineup in both innings of the India vs Australia Boxing Day Test. Rahane was handed the captaincy for the remaining Test matches in the series after regular skipper Virat Kohli went back home after the first Test to be with his pregnant wife Anushka Sharma. Apart from clinching the victory, Ajinkya Rahane also entered an elite list alongside former India skipper MS Dhoni.

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India vs Australia 2020: Ajinkya Rahane joins elite list

After winning the India vs Australia Boxing Day Test, Rahane became only the second Indian captain after MS Dhoni to win his first three Tests. MS Dhoni had registered four successive victories when he took over the captaincy from Anil Kumble in 2008. Apart from this record, Rahane also joined an elite list of Indian skippers who have scored centuries in Australia while leading the side.

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Rahane became only the fifth Indian skipper after Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli to register a ton Down Under. The middle-order batsman had scored 112 in the first innings which proved to be the turning point of the match.

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India vs Australia 2020: Ajinkya Rahane on team's performance in 2nd Test

Rahane while speaking to Harsha Bhogale on Sony Six after the win said that it would have been easy for the team to get stuck down thinking about the Adelaide defeat, but the team decided to put all of it behind and came in with intent and attitude.

He also added that coming into this Test, the team wanted to bat first and that it was important to bowl with discipline, which the bowlers did really well, especially Ashwin who came on in the 10th over and created that pressure. He also spoke about getting impressed with the performance from debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj.

Image: BCCI / Twitter