Ajinkya Rahane - Anchor of a sinking ship

Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant century in Delhi to anchor a sinking Indian ship

It is a sheer delight to watch Ajinkya Rahane bat.

And when he bats the way he did at Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in Delhi against South Africa, eyes gaze at the diminutive batsmen’s austere mightiness and admirable forbearance.

It was not a brutal assault characterised in the batting of a Kohli or a Sharma, it was a gradual prickling of an insidious South African force going all guns blazing against the batsmen. The more he stayed, the more painful his prickles became.

At one point, when the hosts were lurking at the danger of another batting collapse, he weaved an influential partnership of 98 runs with R. Ashwin to take India’s score to 334.

Reaching his maiden hundred on Indian soil with his prototype straight drive, which has been the hallmark of his batting, his innings was a marriage of abandon and stroke play, a display of nonchalance and resistance. He tailor-made the innings, stitching every part of the fabric with his own craftiness.

Watching him bat is like immersing in the vast and appeasing Mumbai Sea with gentle breeze cuddling the face and recurring whirls depicting the ferocity. It is like relishing the oldies’ in the era of distorted raps. He is a driver who would stop at every red signal in the traffic but once he is on the highways, he would shift to his main gears to increase the momentum.

Brutal Beginnings

Two years’ ago, when he honed the Test cap for the first time on the same ground, he had heaps of runs in the domestic backyard and the moment was ripe enough to capitalise since selectors’ were hunting for replacements of inevitable departure of “fab five”.

He looked a bundle of nerves, his shot selection was bluntly poor and his external acts signalled the internal chaos. His scores read 7 and 1 in his first two innings.

It was much more than a missed opportunity for Rahane and more importantly, his confidence submerged deeply and he was shattered. He was criticised by former cricketers, the inherent temperament had not been justified and the missed opportunity could have been a stamp on his career.

He would have gone back and would have stacked up another pile of runs but the debacle would have left a dent in his career.

Rahane had a forgettable Test debut against Australia in Delhi in 2013

An ailing batsmen’s most preferred doctor, a surgeon of batsmen’s technique and a recognised cricketer in stature, Pravin Amre, dialed him for the help.

Having known him from Under-17 days, Amre had the belief in his abilities and worked meticulously on Rahane’s game. Though in the middle of the season, with tours to South Africa and New Zealand on the fringes, Amre suggested Rahane to change his back lift.

The metamorphosis in the middle of the season needs a lot of effrontery since repairs are mainly done in off-seasons. But having someone like Amre alongside him, who had extreme faith in Rahane’s game, he reciprocated his faith by adapting to the suggestions’ as quickly as possible.

Amre arranged a personal session with Sachin Tendulkar to boost the spirits of this young man who was the prodigal son of Mumbai cricket.

Often being termed as ‘unfit’ material to play for India, Rahane’s grit and determination to ink his name was visible when last year he said something which alluded that he had overcome the debacle. He said:

“My time will come and I don’t want any sympathies. I am still young and age is on my side. My Test debut might have come late but I know I am in the race. I will fight it out. I will keep working hard.”

The Anchor of a Sinking Ship

“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up- Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins.

Training under the wings of Amre, Rahane took a leaf out of his book and scored a fighting 96 on a bouncy wicket at Durban. Coming in at 104/5, he stitched small partnerships to take India’s score to 223 and avoided an embarrassing innings defeat.

In the tour to New Zealand, he once again anchored a sinking Indian ship by scoring his maiden hundred in Wellington. Coming in at 165/5, he carved out a blistering century which was a combination of straight drives, back-foot punches and delicate square cuts.

While he completed his half-century in 101 balls, he scored next fifty runs in 48 balls and forged important partnerships to take India’s score to 438. Though India could not grab an opportunity to win the match, Rahane did his part by harbouring the ship to a comfortable position.

The next big moment came in India’s tour of England when he enshrined his name on the honours’ board of the Lord’s by scoring another century, continuing his dream run. Placing the foot on the crease at 86/3 which further went awry to 145/7, he carved out important partnerships in the end to take out India from a tumultuous situation.

Rahane's (R) innings at Lord’s was one of the best innings in a winning cause

His innings of 103 was a patient knock coupled with magnificent stroke making to place India in a comfortable position. India scripted a historic win at Lord’s cricket ground after an interval of 28 years and Rahane was the man who established robust foundations’ with his century.

In the tour down under, his majestic batting continued with a century in Melbourne. He scored 141 runs off 171 balls which included 21 boundaries against the likes of Johnson, Harris and Hazelwood.

In reply to Australia’s mammoth total of 530, he joined Kohli when India were on the verge of danger with their score reading 147/3. Along with Kohli, he crafted one of the best partnerships down under and together they surmounted an uphill task to place India in a comfortable position.

With another twin display of equanimity and self-restraint in Delhi against South Africa, Rahane joined the elite group to have scored a century in both innings of the match.

With his envious ability to remain calm under pressure and testing situations, he is slowly developing companionship with lower-order batsmen and emerging as a replacement of VVS Laxman, who won several matches for India.

If batting along with lower order is not a cakewalk, given the risks involved, he has time and again proved as a force who can pull back his team from precarious situations and overhaul the whole scenario.

His proficiency to seize the game on his own, like he did in Delhi; his potential to assess the situation and change the gears and more importantly, his contributions’ in jittery situations makes him a sui generis.

He is slowly becoming an anchor who can sail a sinking ship, a driver who loves driving in the precipitous mountains and a player who can be called as an ‘upgraded’ version of VVS Laxman. No flamboyant celebration, no hullabaloo, no display of emotion and he waves his bat in acknowledgement with stoicism.

Let’s hope he continues to be a grappling iron who can pull back a sliding ship at the bay.