Published 21:14 IST, January 26th 2021
Ajinkya Rahane credits skipper Virat Kohli for backing him when he was off-colour
Team India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has credited skipper Virat Kohli for backing him when he failed to perform well with the bat
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Team India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane credited skipper Virat Kohli for backing him whenever he failed to perform with the bat. Rahane had his task cut out after Kohli had returned back to India on paternity leave after the Adelaide debacle as he had to lead India from the front in the next three matches.
However, once 'Jinx' took the initiative of captaining the side, there was no looking back for either him or the visitors as they came back strongly and ended up winning the series.
'Always had faith in me': Ajinkya Rahane
“Honestly speaking, I never ever felt that my place in the side was ever in danger. The captain and team management always had faith in me", said Ajinkya Rahane as quoted by PTI.
"Yes, sometimes in a few series, a player is off-colour but that doesn't mean that his class is gone. A player needs only one knock to get back to his form. When I was going through a bad patch, my captain boosted my morale. It's always comforting to know that you have his backing and you are then focused on giving your best without any worries,” the Indian Test specialist added.
How Team India's fortunes changed post the Adelaide Test?
Leading India in the Boxing Day Test match at the MCG, the Mumbai cricketer notched up his 12th Test century on a difficult wicket. His vital innings of 112 was one of the main factors that helped the visitors level the four-match series 1-1. He was also adjudged the Man of the Match award for his impactful knock in what was a must-win game for India.
The Men In Blue then secured a hard-fought draw in the following Test at the SCG as the middle-order duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari added 62 runs for the seventh-wicket stand and made the Australian bowlers toil hard for almost 43 overs.
The odds were against the visitors in the series decider at the Gabba, Brisbane but, an injury-marred team led by Ajinkya Rahane did the unthinkable by getting the better of a full-strength Australian team as they chased down a stiff total of 328 on the final day of the contest to successfully retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy and thereby, register back-to-back series wins on Australian soil.
21:14 IST, January 26th 2021