IND vs ENG 2021: 3 ways Ajinkya Rahane can be dismissed early

Ajinkya Rahane's Test career has been hanging on tenterhooks for some time now.

The Indian vice-captain, once the most reliable bat in the middle, has blown hot and cold over the last few series. England, on the other hand, will be looking to capitalize on his weakness when both sides clash in the five-match Test series starting August 4.

Rahane has 731 Test runs against England from 17 matches at an average of 24.37. This includes four fifties and a century. Ideally, for a batsman of his caliber, one would expect the numbers to be a lot more, and the Mumbai batsman would be keen to get back among the runs.

Ahead of the upcoming series, we take a look at some of the methods England could employ to send Rahane back to the dugout early.

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#1 Ajinkya Rahane's vulnerability to swing bowling

This was the case in the World Test Championship (WTC) final as well, where NZ used ample swing on offer. While he remained defiant in his standing, Rahane struggled to get away from the spell and eventually fell to Neil Wagner.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson, with their ability to generate swing, will surely look at their chances of getting the better of Ajinkya Rahane. With their ability to swing the cherry both ways and add some pace to it, both seamers have a huge chance to peg Rahane on the backfoot.

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#2 More of Broad vs Rahane

Barring Moeen Ali, Broad has dismissed Rahane six times in their encounters and he's managed to get the batsman edging and mistiming the shot on four occasions to cause his downfall.

Virat Kohli is another Indian batsman who's had his struggles against Broad as well and both these players have the tendency to play their shots a little too early, falling for that dip in pace that Broad successfully manages.

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#3 Sheer pace to breach Ajinkya Rahane's defence

Ajinkya Rahane's defence is watertight, and the only way to breach past that solid technique is through sheer pace. This is where Mark Wood and Ben Stokes come in with their odd and pacy deliveries that have bamboozled batsmen in the past.

Stokes has dismissed Rahane twice, but Wood is yet to. Anderson (6) and Chris Jordan (2) are the other seamers who have dismissed Rahane after both sides met.