Sep 02, 2024 09:45 AM IST
Ajinkya Rahane will draw confidence from the century ahead of the domestic season for Mumbai when the Ranji Trophy kicks off next month.
Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane may not longer be in the reckoning for a place in the national Test team, as repeatedly hinted by BCCI’s selection committee, but it didn’t stop the seasoned batter from notching up his 40th first-class century in the County Championship Division Two match for Leicestershire against Glamorgan.
Rahane, who featured in 85 Tests and 90 ODIs for India, laced 13 boundaries and a solitary six to score a valiant 192-ball 102, while also stitching a vital 183-run stand alongside Australian Peter Handscomb on the final day of the four-day match as Leicestershire escaped a loss against Glamorgan at the Sofia Gardens.
At stumps on Day 3, Rahane was unbeaten on 47 alongside Handscomb on 33 not out as Leicestershire trailed by 155 runs when bad light stopped the play with still 21.2 overs left for the day. Earlier, Glamorgan had declared on 550 for 9, taking a 299-run lead after Colin Ingram carved out a career-best 257.
However, the Indo-Aussie pair, both of whom were dropped by Glamorgan leg-spinner Mason Crane, worked magic for Leicestershire on the final day as their 150-plus run stand helped the side draw the game.
The knock of 102 was Rahane’s first century in red-ball cricket after almost 19 months, having last scored the triple-digit figure in the Ranji Trophy in January 2023 against Assam.
Rahane, who also had a good run for Leicestershire in the One-Day Cup with a run tally of 378, laced with four fifties in 10 matches, will draw confidence from the century on Sunday ahead of the domestic season for Mumbai when the Ranji Trophy kicks off next month.
End of the road for Rahane in Indian team?
Indian team management, which now also comprises new head coach Gautam Gambhir, have long hinted that they wish to move on from their senior middle-order batters in Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane in a bid to give more opportunities to younger players. More recently, both the veteran batters were not named for the Duleep Trophy, which will begin later this week, implying that the selectors and Gambhir won’t consider them for the upcoming three Tests for India – two at home against Bangladesh (two matches) and New Zealand (three matches) and the all-important Border-Gavaskar series in Australia (five matches).
