“Don’t think Rahane is mentally disturbed, his footwork an issue” - Pragyan Ojha after another failure for batter on Day 4 of 1st India vs New Zealand Test

Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha reckons Ajinkya Rahane’s continued woes with the bat don’t have anything to do with the mental aspect of his game. Ojha feels that Rahane’s uncertain footwork is the major issue in his game, which has been constantly troubling him.

Rahane, who was named captain for the first Test against New Zealand, with Virat Kohli being rested, perished lbw to left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for 4 on Sunday. He was beaten by a length ball that came in with the arm and trapped right in front as India’s batting crumbed on Day 4 of the Kanpur Test. Rahane looked better in the first innings, but was bowled by Kyle Jamieson for 35.

Analyzing Rahane’s woes, Ojha said during a discussion on Cricbuzz that the experienced batter needs to sort out his footwork. He commented:

“Don’t think Ajinkya Rahane is mentally disturbed, but, looking at the technical part, his footwork is an issue. It has not been proper and a lot of former cricketers have also pointed towards the same. When your footwork is not proper, you are bound to get into trouble."

Ojha admitted that Shreyas Iyer scoring a hundred on debut will only add to the pressure on Rahane heading into the second Test in Mumbai, with Kohli set to return. Ojha added:

“Pressure is always there but it increases when you become a senior batter and when you know that a junior batter has come in and scored a hundred on debut. There there is someone like a (Hanuma) Vihari, who scores well whenever he gets an opportunity.”

Rahane has struggled for runs since the Boxing Day hundred against Australia last year. His Test average has also fallen below 40.

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“Southee and Jamieson constantly kept Pujara under pressure” - Pragyan Ojha

The former India cricketer also hailed Kiwi pacers Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson for not allowing Cheteshwar Pujara to get away at the start on Day 4. The India no.3 was strangled down leg by a short ball from Jamieson.

Speaking about Pujara’s dismissal, Ojha said:

“Southee and Jamieson constantly kept Pujara under pressure. They knew that Pujara was uncertain, whether the ball was coming in or going out. Pujara was thinking about how to play the pitched up deliveries. The ball moving around wasn’t helping him either. And then, he was asked an out-of-the-box question by a bouncer. This shows how well New Zealand have planned. They know what tactics to use.”

Resuming at 14 for 1, India crumbled to 51 for 5 before a sixth-wicket partnership of 52 between Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer lifted the hosts. Jamieson broke the frustrating stand by cleaning up Ashwin for 32.