Hyderabad: Cometh the hour, cometh Ajinkya Rahane. After registering a historic win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Rahane has risen like a team man. He made the right bowling changes at crucial junctures and scored a memorable century to take the team aground.
His coach, Pravin Amre, in an exclusive chat with ETV Bharat, talked about what Rahane did right at the MCG especially when the team was down in the dumps, and what his strategy should be as the Sydney Test beckons.
Excerpts:
Q. What aspect of Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy stood out according to you in the second Test?
A. As we all know this was one of the most important Test match in the series. In every Test series, the first Test is always important and that Test match we lost in Adelaide... from thereon the challenge was that we missed Shami and also Virat, the run machine. That was the challenge for Team India. Obviously, it wasn't easy to bounce back.
We all wanted to see that fight. Nobody expected that we are going to win that Test match but everybody wanted to see how we are going to make a comeback from that pressure game we lost in the first Test match. But I think when you are a champion side because this is the way we have played in the last two, three years... our team was playing well, to be honest.
I think Ajinkya's role was to get them collectively and that is what we saw. We did well in all the departments. Ravindra Jadeja's first catch was so critical which set the tone for Team India. And then batting in partnerships. As a batsman, he was involved in three partnerships and that was really important to get the runs on the board.
In Australia, runs on the board are like gold. We got the runs to fight it out. In the second innings again, we had a challenge since Umesh could bowl only 3.3 overs and we became one bowler short but I think the way Siraj and Bumrah handled the situation, that was remarkable. And overall, how he used Ashwin on the first day and last day, it was so important to see that everyone contributed to team India's success and Ajinkya handled them well. So, I think as a captain you feel very happy to such result as a team.
Q. Before the Test series there were talks about Rahane not doing enough as a senior batsman and if take aside Pujara's Australia tour, both of them were under the pump. Your take.
A. When you play for more than six, seven years, you can't be in top form all the time. The form will go up and down and that was the thing. I think he was very confident and he was always working on his game. He learnt from every tour. New Zealand was also a learning tour for him and he wanted to work in certain areas and he worked in off season and that really helped him to do well in Australia. New Zealand is history and Australia is present. So, he just focussed on the present.
Q. This reminds me of an interview during the IPL where he said he was thinking too much about his game and is now trying to keep everything simple...
A. I think as a player the level he is playing at, the pressure is always there. So, you have to think but you have to go with that thin line where you can't be thinking too much also and getting that balance is not that easy, but he has understood that critical thinking should be given importance and not too much of thinking. Pressure is always there when you don't have a successful tour like you talked about New Zealand. You can't be thinking way too much simply because you have to produce results. If you are giving all the time to thinking then how will you produce results?
Q. Do you think captaincy has helped him as a batsman since more responsibility has come in?
A. Well, there was no choice this year. He and Pujara, particularly in the Melbourne Test, they were the only two senior batsmen. He doesn't have any choice because that's the responsibility on his shoulder and he knows he has to fire himself first as a batsman, then he has to think as a captain. But he played the dual role extremely well. As a batsman, he fired. He was involved in partnerships especially when the day was overcast. The ball was doing something and he handled everything very well.
Q. Do you think this series is a do-or-die tournament for Rahane?
A. I think the first Test was the toughest to lose. They handled themselves very well. As a team, they forgot their previous performance in Adelaide. They came to Melbourne with a fresh mindset and now they have landed in Sydney. So, Melbourne is history right now. They can take the positive from there about how they dominated the entire game in Melbourne. They need to work on those aspects because they need to repeat those performances. If you see the approach in the last match, the approach was to win every single day, every single session. Melbourne is history now, Sydney is present. They have to produce good cricket as they did in the last Test match.
Q. What are you expecting from Rahane as a batsman and as a captain tomorrow in Sydney?
A. I think what he did in the last match, he should try to repeat them. Like playing a couple of sessions for the team and be smart and be brave in bowling changes.
Q. What is your prediction on the third Test match and series?
A. I am not an astrologer to predict the series. I just want to see them play good cricket for the next five days. Results will take care of it. What's more important is to play well like we played in Melbourne.
--Ayushmaan Pandey
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