WTC Final: "Only explanation is that he was going for his 50"- Gavaskar reacts to Ajinkya Rahane's dismissal

Sunil Gavaskar feels the only reason why Ajinkya Rahane played a half-hearted pull shot off Neil Wagner's short ball in the 79th over was to take a single and complete his half-century.

Unfortunately, since Rahane did not commit fully to the pull shot, the ball landed in the hands of square leg fielder Tom Latham. Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar was on commentary duty when Rahane got out in the WTC Final's first innings.

“Only explanation is that he was going for his fifty, he was looking to get a single to reach his milestone by a little dab on the onside. In the end, the ball bounced and he couldn’t control, in fact, the ball before that too he couldn’t control it,” Gavaskar reacted to Ajinkya Rahane's dismissal in the commentary box.

Rahane would be disappointed with that shothttps://t.co/5mAFCFaOKf

— HT Sports (@HTSportsNews) June 20, 2021

Ajinkya Rahane played a similar shot on the ball before his dismissal. He got two runs off that shot, but Neil Wagner bowled the next delivery a bit straighter in line.

The lower order of the Indian team could not contribute much after Rahane's dismissal as the Blackcaps picked up the remaining four wickets while conceding only 45 runs.

Ajinkya Rahane was the top-scorer for India in the first innings of the World Test Championship Final

Ajinkya Rahane hit five fours in his 117-ball 49

Although Ajinkya Rahane lost his wicket in an avoidable fashion, the right-handed batsman ended the first innings as the highest run-scorer for India. The Indian vice-captain scored 49 runs off 117 deliveries, smashing five boundaries.

Rahane had an important partnership of 61 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Virat Kohli. India would be better placed if Rahane had converted his good start into a big score. Nevertheless, his 49 runs helped India end the first innings with a 217-run total.