In a shameful display at Centurion, Team India folded for merely 131 in the second innings of the opening Test, facing a crushing defeat by an innings and 32 runs against South Africa on Thursday. India found themselves in disarray by the relentless pace were caught off guard by the unpredictable bounce on the pitch. This loss effectively ended India's dream of clinching a Test series victory in South Africa. Amidst all of this a video of Ajinkya Rahane praticing at the nets has gone viral. Rahane last played for India during their tour of the West Indies in July earlier this year. He was part of the Indian side for a lot of their recent victories overseas. South African conditions require a certain kind of waiting and Rahane looks the most apt batsman for such conditions along with Ajinkya Rahane.
Rahane in 12 innings has 402 runs to his name, at an average of 36.54. Earlier, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rued the absence of Ajinkya Rahane. The legendary batter recalled the Johannesburg Test match from the 2018/19 series where Rahane, dropped from the opening two games, had scored a valiant 48 on a demonic track in the final tie of the contest to help India secure a 63-run win."People have been talking about the pitch in Johannesburg Test five years back and I was there. Yeah it wasn't the easiest of pitches to bat on the odd ball was climbing up. And Ajinkya Rahane, who had not been picked for the first two Test matches, was picked for that game and he showed what the Indian team had missed because earlier on in the first couple of Test matches India did not lose by big margins. So maybe somebody with Rahane's experience overseas... because Rahane overseas has been such a fine, fine player and maybe if he had been there today the story could have been completely different," Gavaskar said on commentary on Star Sports.Rahane was dropped alongside Cheteshwar Pujara, signalling India's shift away from the senior batters in early 2022. While Pujara reclaimed his spot with an impressive County cricket stint, Rahane spent a year out of the limelight. His return came in 2023, marking a stunning comeback for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Reflecting on India’s performance, especially in the second inning, the batting display was shambolic. Many players threw away their wickets without showing the necessary application to bat on a challenging pitch.
