'Refreshing, aggressive and attacking' - Twitter reacts to Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy in 2nd Test 

After two-and-half sessions on Day One, Ajinkya Rahane has certainly met all the expectations with his calm demeanor and shrewd tactics on the field.

The change in leadership for India in the 2nd Test was a massive talking point, after Virat Kohli left for India for the birth of his first child. Add to that Mohammed Shami's absence, and the onus was on Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side after the debacle at Adelaide.

Against all odds, Rahane was steadfast with his bowling changes and field placements. Australia's best batsman, Steve Smith was the first victim of the astute strategies by the Indians. Smith holed out to leg slip off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin, a trap laid specifically for the Aussie star.

Travis Head was caught at gully by Ajinkya Rahane himself while Marnus Labuchagne hit one straight to widish leg slip. Such accurate leg side-dominated field placements come few and far between in Test matches.

They were certainly backed by meticulous planning and on-field acumen by Rahane and the team management. On the bowling front, India opened with Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. Both the pacers were used assiduously in short spells.

In a surprise change, Ravichandran Ashwin was brought ahead of debutant pacer Mohammed Siraj. The move paid dividends as Ashwin first got a threatening Matthew Wade and then took the prized wicket of Smith.

Siraj was bowled right after the lunch, a move which allowed him to settle into his groove and later take two crucial wickets. Notably, Ajinkya Rahane kept with the spin-duo and Bumrah against the Aussie tail considering that Yadav had gone for runs earlier.

The 32-year-old looked calm throughout. He even denied three calls of reviews by his bowlers and all turned out to be spot on. Such was Rahane's top day on the field, that Twitter users praised the Indian captain's strategies.

Twitter reactions to Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy

These are some Bond-villain-level strategic field placings & bowling changes from Ajinkya Rahane. He looks calm and quiet, standing in his corner, but he thinks up a wily game. #AUSvIND

— Mohamed Zeeshan (@ZeeMohamed_) December 26, 2020

Just fascinating watching India exploit moisture in the pitch by using spinners. Brilliant move! #AUSvsIND

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 26, 2020

Great captaincy from Ajinkya Rahane in absence of Kohli. Adept use of Ashwin and rewarded with prized wicket of Steve Smith. Aussies have been out to injudicious shot selection. India have to break up Labuschagne-Head partnership, but considerable downpayment so far #AUSvIND

— Robert Smith (@OnyaDon) December 26, 2020

Fascinating session. India showed spunk, skill and ambition in lifting themselves up after the Adelaide debacle. Bumrah and Ashwin all over the Aussie batsmen. Highlight for me was Rahane’s captaincy: astute, attacking, rewarding

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) December 26, 2020

Rahane and India have nailed their plans today. Cant think of too many better displays of tactics by a touring side in Australia #AUSvIND

— Darren Murphy 🏏 (@MrDMurphy) December 26, 2020

Outstanding bowling changes and really smart fielding placements from Rahane. And the bowlers delivered . Ashwin, Bumrah,Siraj were absolutely brilliant. Great effort to get Australia all out for 195 on the first day. Now for the batters to get a good first innings lead #AUSvIND

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) December 26, 2020

First change is a spinner. Change in captaincy obvious immediately. Kohli doesn't rate spin, Rahane does. #AUSvIND

— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) December 26, 2020

The idea of leadership often merges with the idea of dominance. And with Kohli, & his larger than life image, exudes that. But if you look at Rahane, and for that matter Paine, you have to look beyond the exterior and often you find men who understand the game. #AUSvIND

— Ananya Sarkar (@onnonya_tweets) December 26, 2020

Rahane's captaincy is refreshing. Aggressive & attacking, bringing on the lead spinner early. There's no way in the world Kohli would have brought Ash in to bowl early. Ash shares great camaraderie with Jinx & Che, hope that rubs on his confidence & he delivers a 20 wkt series!

— Srini Mama (@SriniMaama16) December 26, 2020

Impressive captaincy from Rahane on day 1 of the #BoxingDay test. Enough to demonstrate that even though Kohli is the superior all format batsman, he has a better red ball & white ball captain in the same side who is waiting.

— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) December 26, 2020

Good on Ajinkya Rahane. Spent a majority of that drinks break with his arm around Mohammad Siraj. Calming down any nerves that the debutant might still have #AusvIND

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) December 26, 2020