3 Indian Players for whom the second Test is vitally important

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane - At crossroads

Rahane had a mediocre tour of England where he scored 257 runs in 10 innings. Being the vice-captain of the team, Rahane was able to hold on to his place in spite of the repeated failures.

The beauty about Rahane is that in India’s lonely Test wins in South Africa and England, Rahane played a huge role. Rohit Sharma was preferred for the first two Test matches in South Africa which India duly lost. Rahane was brought into the team for the third Test at Johannesburg.

South Africa had a slender lead of 7 in the first innings and the match effectively came down to the second innings. Rahane walked in with India on 57 for 3 and left at the score of 203 for 7. Rahane’s individual contribution was 48. India won that match by 63 runs.

In the England series, in the third Test at Nottingham, India were 82 for 3 when Rahane joined Kohli. Kohli and Rahane added 159 runs for the fourth wicket before Rahane got out for 81. In the end, India won that match by 203 runs. In hindsight, that partnership between Rahane and Kohli saved India from a humiliating 5-0 whitewash.

But where exactly Rahane failed was in the second innings of the fourth Test when India were chasing down 245 for a win to keep the series alive. After Kohli got out following a century partnership with Rahane, the latter could have guided the team to a victory with support from Rishabh Pant and Ashwin. But Rahane got out immediately after reaching his 50 allowing England to take control over the series.

In the first Test against the West Indies at Rajkot, Rahane scored an unconvincing 41 off 92 balls. He was not at all fluent in his innings though the team was in a commanding position to press the accelerator. Now, for Rahane, it boils down to the second Test at Hyderabad.

Like Rahul, Rahane needs big innings at Hyderabad before the tour of Australia to get back his confidence. Of late, Rahane has been struggling in home conditions and was not able to rotate strike frequently. Here is a very good opportunity for Rahane to set right the records against a mediocre bowling attack in home conditions.

Rahane is no more in the scheme of things for India in white ball cricket. In Test matches, there are others like Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma and Karun Nair waiting in the wings. Hence, the second Test against the West Indies assumes paramount importance to Ajinkya Rahane going forward in his career.