Ajinkya Rahane, a middle-order hitter for Team India, hit a sensational six off Pat Cummins in the WTC final at the Oval on Friday, June 9, on his Test comeback. This got him to a brilliant fifty.
The 35-year-old came in when the team was in trouble at 50-3 in their first inning. He kept his cool and used solid technique to help India get closer to a respectable score. The experienced hitter got to 50 with a strong swivel pull over his long leg into the stands off of a bouncer that Pat Cummins tried to throw.
With this hit, Ajinkya Rahane became the first Indian batsman in WTC finals history to score 50 runs.
Rahane was one of the most experienced Test bowlers, but he was kicked off the Indian team after a bad tour of South Africa in 2022.
In 82 Tests, the senior gentleman has scored 12 centuries and 25 half-centuries for a total Test average of 38.52. But in 15 games between 2021 and 2022, he averaged only 20, which got him kicked out of the Indian team after the tour of South Africa in 2021.
In 2022–2023, the 35-year-old had a great Ranji season. He scored 634 runs at an amazing average of 57.6, which got him back into the Indian Test team for the WTC final. He was India’s captain for the last three Tests of their famous series win in Australia in 2020–21. He played a great innings in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which tied the series.
Rahane also helped CSK win the IPL title this season. He scored 326 runs in 14 games with an average of 32.60 and a strike rate of 172.49, which is amazing.
“I’ve never seen Rahane move so well” (AB de Villiers)
At the end of Day 2 of the WTC final against Australia at the Oval, former South African star AB de Villiers praised Ajinkya Rahane.
When Rahane came in, India was struggling at 50-3, and he and his CSK friend Ravindra Jadeja put together a 71-run combination that was very important. Even though Nathan Lyon’s bowling got Jadeja out late in the day, Rahane was still unbeaten on 29 with KS Bharat by his side.
In reaction to a tweet by Harsha Bhogle, the former captain of South Africa, AB de Villiers, wrote:
“I’ve never seen Rahane move so well! The right technique is to play it late.”
Australia started the day with 327-3 and was bowled out for 469 by pacer Mohammed Siraj, who took four wickets.
Steve Smith and Travis Head saved Australia by putting together 285 runs for the fourth wicket. This put Australia in a strong position to win. When Australia was in trouble at 76-3 on a tricky Oval pitch, their combination helped them get back on track.
At the time this was written, India was 239-6. Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur had been batting together for 87 runs without stopping. They are still 230 runs behind Australia and need 31 more runs to escape the follow-on.
