India vs Australia: 'Well Done by Stand In Captain' - Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli Laud Ajinkya Rahane

Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were all praise for Ajinkya Rahane on Sunday after the latter’s 12th Test century put India in a commanding position in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne. Rahane ended the second day of the Boxing Day Test on 104 off 200 balls, helping India take a lead of 82 runs.

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Another great day for us. Proper test cricket at its best. Absolutely top knock from Jinks👌@ajinkyarahane88

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) December 27, 2020

“Another great day for us. Proper test cricket at its best. Absolutely top knock from Jinks @ajinkyarahane88,” Kohli tweeted after the end of the day’s play.

Meanwhile, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar too lauded India’s stand-in captain for his leadership and ‘fantastic’ knock.

India vs Australia: Captain’s Ton from Ajinkya Rahane Gives India Invaluable First Innings Lead

“2 good days for India in the 2nd Test. @Jaspritbumrah93, @ashwinravi99 & Mohammed Siraj bowled really well and continued to keep the pressure on to restrict Australia to a low total. Well done by the stand-in captain Ajinkya, who made some real smart bowling changes coupled with good field placements.

“.@RealShubmanGill got off to a good start on debut with some good shots and looked comfortable at the crease. @ajinkyarahane88 and @imjadeja have stitched a very crucial partnership which may just take the game away from Australia.

“Last but not least, fantastic knock by @ajinkyarahane88 who not only looked solid in his defense but was also looking to play attacking shots. He kept the momentum going really well,” he tweeted.

2 good days for India in the 2nd Test. @Jaspritbumrah93, @ashwinravi99 & Mohammed Siraj bowled really well and continued to keep the pressure on to restrict Australia to a low total.

Well done by the stand-in captain Ajinkya, who made some real smart bowling changes coupled…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 27, 2020

Debutant Shubman Gill, in the post-match press conference, said Rahane’s knock was a vital lesson for youngsters like him.

“The way he was patient about this knock,” said opener Shubman Gill when asked about what he learned from the senior batsman.

Gill said that Rahane avoided going into the shell for the entire innings and took on the attack when he needed to.

“This knock was all about patience and he was so patient. More importantly when you are playing such a high quality bowling attack, sometimes you go into that shell and you are not able to score runs. But the way Ajinkya bhai played, it was such a magnificent knock to watch from outside. How to see off those tough periods. The loose balls that he was getting, he was making sure that he put all of them away.”

Rahane is the captain of the Indian team for the rest of their four-match series in Australia as Kohli returned to India for the birth of his first child after the first Test.

He came in at no. 4, the position that Kohli occupies in India’s Test batting lineup, and shared partnerships of 52 and 57 with Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant, respectively.

Ravindra Jadeja then dropped anchor and the pair will start the third day on a partnership of 104. Jadeja himself ended the day unbeaten on 40.

(with IANS inputs)

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