Ajinkya Rahane certainly has shown why he is regarded as one of the best technically gifted batsman in the business as the stand-in skipper made the most of the opportunity of leading the team with a impactful century, which allowed India to take a 100-run lead over Australia in second Test in Melbourne on Sunday.
Rahane, who is leading the side in place of Virat Kohli, took 195 balls to score his 12th Test ton laced with 11 boundaries; making him the 10th Indian captain to score a centuy in Test cricket history.
The condition in which the 31-year-old right-hander played the knock attracted rave reviews from Shane Warne, who felt
Shane Warne was full of praise as Rahane became just the second Indian to score two centuries at the MCG, joining Vinoo Mankad.
“As far as hundreds go, they all just say one in the hundreds column but some are better than others,” Warne said on Fox Cricket. “That will go down as one of the all-time great hundreds by Ajinkya Rahane given the conditions, given the situation of the game, given the quality of bowling, given the way the pitch has nipped around, put all those in the mix, that’s where the stats don’t tell you.”
He further added that Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who is back in India to be with his wife on paternity leave, must be happy the way the team responded in his absence.
“I can’t say enough about what a quality hundred this is. Absolutely outstanding from Rahane, the Indian skipper. I’m sure Virat Kohli is sitting back in India feeling very proud of what this Indian team have been able to do without him and how well Ajinkya Rahane has done," Warme said.
At the time of stump, Rahane was batting at 104 after being dropped off a bouncer by Travis Head, who came in rushing from the point in his attempt to grab the catch. India will resume third day on 277/5.
