“Ajinkya Rahane is one of our pillars and he remains one of our pillars,” Ravi Shastri said in the lead up to the third Test at Trent Bridge.
Other than skipper Virat Kohli, how many pillars actually support the foundation of this team is a question hard to ascertain. By Shastri’s admission, it emerged Rahane was one member who the team relied on to shore up the batting.
The captain and vice-captain were in top form on Saturday as they steered India to a promising start in the crucial third Test at Trent Bridge.
Backs to the wall, India needed an inspired performance and more than anyone else, their batting line-up needed to step up.
Put into bat, there were fears of witnessing another batting collapse. But, India were up to the task this time around. Led by gritty knocks from Kohli and Rahane, India reached 307/6 at the end of day one.
The day wasn’t without hiccups, though. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul gave India a steady start – leaving 41% of the balls they faced in the first 15 overs, the most they’ve done at that stage all series – but their departure in quick succession followed by the dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara at the stroke of lunch had caused some concern.
But the two senior pros shored up the middle-order with a 159-run stand for the fourth wicket. It was the sort of partnership which was missing from India’s batting effort through this series. It was comfortably the highest stand by an India pair in this series. Rahane scored a positive 81, while Kohli fell three runs short of what would have been another well-made century.
In fact, all batsmen managed to show more application here – in better conditions for batting – than in the previous two outings.
While the ball wasn’t swinging as much as it did at Lord’s and Edgbaston, it did spit around from time to time. The Indian batsmen, though, showed patience choosing to leave most deliveries and altering their style to play the ball late and negate the swing.
No one, though, did it better than Kohli and Rahane. The duo shared their sixth century stand in Tests and what was particularly impressive was the understanding between the two. In context of the series, the timing proved crucial.
India’s batsmen had finally shown some character. The openers had handed them a steady start but the foundation threatened to give way as India slumped from 60/0 to 82/3 by Lunch. The pair not only helped steady the ship in the second session, but dominated the England bowlers making it India’s first full session in the series where they did not lose a wicket.
The pair batted with intent and seemed confident of their running between the wickets. Pinching runs in this series has proved tricky in this series so far, especially with Kohli. However. the pair showed great understanding as any captain and vice-captain should.
The duo has always enjoyed a great rapport on and off the field, even though their personalities are quite varied from each other. Kohli is aggressive and Rahane is mild-mannered and quiet. Their styles, though, were quite similar when it came to batting.
Rahane was as aggressive as his skipper. If Kohli smashed 11 fours, Rahane did one better with 12. The duo attacked the bowlers and did not shy away from going after boundaries. Both their strike-rates were well over 60.
It was a welcome change than the struggles the batsmen faced in the first two Tests. The application showed will lay a marker for the rest of the tour. That it came from both members of the leadership group is a good omen as India look script a comeback in the series.