Over the years, Ajinkya Rahane has earned a name for himself for delivering the goods when his team needed the most. Since his debut in 2011, Rahane has gone from strength to strength and was one of the crucial members when Virat Kohli took over the reins in the winter of 2014.
So far, Rahane has slammed 12 centuries in whites and also has as many as 22 vital fifties under his belt. However, he is mostly known for his memorable Lord’s Test hundred, in 2014, and the most recent one at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – his second overall at the venue during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
During a recent conversation with Boria Majumdar, Ajinkya Rahane was asked to pick one between his two epic Test tons, i.e. in Lord’s 2014 and one at the MCG in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 Down Under.
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“For me whenever I get runs and when we win. I think for me that is something really special. Winning the Test match and winning the series is the priority for me rather than my own achievements,” Rahane told Boria Majumdar in an exclusive interview with Sports Today.
“But yes Melbourne Test hundred was really special. I said in Melbourne that my Lord’s hundred was special but many people told me that I think Melbourne hundred was better than my Lord’s hundred. I did not know how to react to that. But now I realized giving the circumstances after the Adelaide Test match, Melbourne Test was really crucial for the series and yes I thought Melbourne innings was really special,” Rahane opined.
We had to take a stand against racism – Ajinkya Rahane
Meanwhile, under Ajinkya Rahane, India defied all the odds to come from behind and beat Australia 2-1 in the four-match series to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They lost several key players as the series progressed due to injuries while skipper Virat Kohli returned after the first Test citing due to paternity leave.
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Moreover, the series was also marred with several on and off-field controversies, including the racism incident in the SCG Test. India’s young fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was at the end of racist slurs. Reacting on the same, Ajinkya Rahane said they had to take a stand and that he always backed his players.
“What happened in Sydney was really sad. With Siraj and a couple of others. We had to take a stand. Yes, I said that we are not going out of the field, we are here to play cricket.
At the same time, we respect our players so if you can actually take those guys out who used bad language. We are here and we can start the game. We didn’t want to lose that momentum. At the same time, we respect our players and I am always there for my players,” Rahane signed off.
