It took an edged boundary to the third man for Ajinkya Rahane to reach his seventh Test hundred. But it is the composed celebration that followed afterwards, that has made us admire the cricketer even more. In this age of brash chest thumping and air punching, Rahane’s mild manners come in as a breath of fresh air.

After reaching his third Test hundred in last four innings, this is what the Mumbai batsman did. Lifted both hands to the air, hugged his batting partner Umesh Yadav and stole a glance to the sky thanking the Almighty. No doubt these were not bereft of emotion but done with the restraint that has become synonymous with Rahane.      

When the entire Indian team stood up to applaud, there was only genuine admiration for the man from Dombivali, Mumbai. This is what Rahane had to say to the media after scoring the hundred, “I was disappointed with the way I got out in the first Test. But, whether we play in India or abroad, what’s important for me is my process and preparations. I never think about scoring hundreds. I think the results will follow as long as I prepare well and my processes are right. I think about the small things that are helpful for me. At the same time scoring a hundred here is special, getting to the three-figure mark is really special for a batsman.”

Also Watch: Ajinkya Rahane Hits a Classy Hundred | India vs West Indies 2nd Test

A monk-like calmness hides a steely resolve that lies underneath, which is manifested in many of Rahane’s knocks in the middle. His unbeaten 108 off 237 balls in the second Test against the West Indies is one such example of sheer determination. The 28 year old’s martial arts background (Rahane is a black belt in Karate) has certainly helped him focus on the job better.

It’s a pure joy to watch Rahane in action in the field. The silken touch combined with gifted timing, makes him a class act. His safe hands in the slips and brilliant out fielding abilities have been a big bonus. But what sets him apart from others is the unique desire to fight against all odds and emerge victorious.

Ajinkya Rahane – The making of a Wall

The long wait to don the national cap

His struggle began early. After many sacrifices, he made his first class debut for Mumbai while still in his teens. Despite scoring heavily year after year in the domestic circuit, the national selectors looked the other way. Many of his contemporaries like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa with less impressive domestic batting records got their chance ahead of him.

Rahane was not the one to get frustrated and instead kept scoring heavily to force himself into reckoning. His One-day debut finally came in 2011 and he had to wait another couple of years for his maiden Test appearance. But his stock in Test cricket arena rose sharply and soon he became the most dependable Indian batsman overseas; with five of his seven Test hundreds coming away from home.

Mastering the T20 challenge

When he realised IPL and Twenty20 is here to stay, Rahane went back to the drawing board – in this case to his batting coach Praveen Amre. Concentrated on building his forearm strength, in an effort to clear the boundaries in the Powerplay overs, while opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals. Indeed it helped him make a mark in IPL as an opener.

Dropped after being integral part of the team

Many eyebrows were raised when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped Rahane last year from the one-day playing XI in Bangladesh. It looked like Rahane had done enough to cement his place in all formats. Not only was he dropped but also Dhoni’s open criticism in the press conference afterwards must not have helped. “We all felt that Ajinkya would do really well as a third opener,” said Dhoni. “But we have had to move him up and down to the order. Thing is, Rahane needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better when there is pace on a wicket. Whenever he has played at No. 4 or No. 5, if the wicket is slow, then he struggles to rotate the strike freely. Especially when he is just starting his innings, he has a bit of trouble.”

Rahane never sulked and tried to take it positively. In a surprising move, the national selectors showed their full faith in Rahane and picked him to captain the team touring Zimbabwe as top players were rested. It was a tough few weeks for Rahane, from being dropped to being named captain of Team India.  But the resolute man that he is, Rahane was praised for his captaincy in Zimbabwe as India won the ODI series 3-0. Since then Rahane is slowly clawing his way back into India’s limited overs side.

 High Praise from his mentor

Coming from Mumbai it’s no surprise Rahane looked up to Sachin Tendulkar for inspiration and got his place in the sun only after Tendulkar hung up his bat. And this is what Sachin wrote about Rahane in his book Playing it My Way, “I had known Rahane for years and had seen how much he loves the game. He has served cricket with complete dedication and commitment over the last few years. I said to him that he might feel hard done by what had happened in his career so far, but should continue to be the way he is, for I was sure Ajinkya would get another chance.” Looking at how Rahane’s career has shaped up and the way he has conducted himself both on and off the field, Sachin must be really proud of this fellow Mumbaikar. 

By Rajesh Sahu (rajesh@glinttv.com)

Having watched cricket all my life, I find no reasons to follow the game religiously the way I used to. Too much cricket, watched enough for an entire lifetime already; no longer part of a news set-up so no need to follow the game; players of today’s generation are not like a Rahul Dravid or a Sachin Tendulkar.

But along comes a player every now and then, who makes you want him to do well, makes you switch off the TV set once he gets out, makes you spend hours watching the game you thought you had fallen out with.

Kannaur Lokesh Rahul’s batting and the way he carries himself makes you do just that. The technique and time he has while playing against the fast bowlers, the innovation he has added to his batting while playing the shorter format of the game, his ground fielding and wicket keeping ability has all added to his charisma. His Test average of only 25.69 may not do justice to Rahul’s immense batting talent, but he showed enough class and poise while scoring his first Test hundred in just the second Test match of his life.

He returns from Zimbabwe as India’s best batsman with scores of 100, 33, 63, 0, 47, 22 in the ODIs and T20s. And in all likelihood could retain his Team India place in the limited overs game.

Centuries for KL Rahul in both Test and ODI

Most deserving youngster to make the grade

You also take heart from the fact that his selection to the Test squad was not because of any fluke performance in the IPL, though he did have a decent IPL season playing for Pune Sunrisers in 2014. His selection was mainly due to some outstanding batting in the domestic circuit.

In the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy, the Karnataka batsman topped the batting charts for his side by scoring more than 1000 runs and was also declared the Man of the Match in the final. Rahul played a big part in winning the Ranji Trophy title that season for Karnataka. He didn’t stop there. In the Duleep Trophy final the same year playing for South Zone against the Central Zone, Rahul scored centuries in both the innings – 185 off 233 in the first and 130 off 152 in the second. No selection committee could have ignored such sheer numbers so he got to make his Test debut at the age of 22.

Domestic performances getting rewarded will go a long way in motivating aspiring cricketers and giving life to the neglected Ranji Trophy.

After coming back from the Australian tour, Rahul went onto score a historic triple century (337), the first Karnataka batsman to achieve the feat in Ranji Trophy. His feat was later replicated by teammate Karun Nair, who scored 328 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final next year.

The Making of KL Rahul

Rahul has gone for a complete makeover. And I’m not talking about his long hair and beard look. Not so long back he was dismissed as a Test specialist only but success in the IPL this year and now a century on ODI debut against Zimbabwe (the first Indian to do so) has added a new dimension to India’s batting.

His IPL success and love for tattoos (he now sports seven tattoos) have added to his fan following. And tweets like these are making new fans join the ranks each day – 
@rahulkl“My body is my journal ,and My tattoos are my story “

Not only cricket, Rahul is a sports fan

Rahul played other sports while growing up and he has kept the interest going as you can clearly see from his tweeted pictures.

KL Rahul playing tennis & football

No doubt he has all the credentials to be a crowd puller off the field, like his Test and IPL captain Virat Kohli. And now with a century on his one-day international debut – there’s no stopping this young man from Karnataka. No doubt he will have to show consistency, curb his strokes at beginning of an innings. But with age on his side and the ability to adapt to all three formats, it will be well worth watching Rahul’s cricketing journey.

By Rajesh Sahu

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A dominant young Indian team demolished Zimbabwe in the first one day international at Harare on Saturday. Indian captain won the toss and put the hosts to bat first. Indian bowlers stamped their authority from the word go and bowled out their opposition for 168. Jasprit Bumrah with 4 for 28 was the pick of the bowlers. Chasing 169 for victory India lost Karun Nair early but KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 100 on his ODI debut and Ambati Rayudu (62*) steered India to victory with plenty to spare.

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