In Ajinkya Rahane, Have We Found Our Soldier To Guard No. 5?

The No. 5 spot in a test team might appear to be just another middle order spot for a casual spectator. It is not. If you had watched Ajinkya Rahane bat in the Lord’s test, you in all probability would have understood its sanctity. Having won the toss, the English bowlers had reduced India to 145/7, minutes after tea.  It was under those circumstances in the Mecca of cricket; Rahane stood up and fought hard. That’s essaying a fight for you. As they say, circumstances make a man.

Ajinkya Rahane is adroit in terms of stroke making and judging the ball. He survived the post tea session known to be a nightmare for every Indian batsmen playing on a green surface. For a test cricketer, what matters most is the time spent on the crease. That is what legends in test cricketing parlance are made of. Staying there in the middle, spotting the lose deliveries and converting them to runs is precisely what Rahane did taking India to a respectable 290/9 at close of day’s play. In the mean time he had done what only few of them could do- Score a test century (103) on his first appearance at Lord’s. Mind you, this is one record even Sachin Tendulkar is shy of. Rahane’s century coupled with some brilliant balling performances by the visitors brought in one of the biggest victories for team India overseas. Winning at Lord’s was the icing on the cake. The last time Indians won a test at Lord’s was in 1986, 2 years before Rahane was born.

Having grown up playing on lifeless pitches and baked surfaces in Mumbai, Rahane’s master class at Lord’s in the 2nd test of the Investec series seems all the more awe-inspiring. In the 3rd test at Southampton, which India lost playing on the defensive, it was Rahane’s batting that stood out. Scoring half centuries in the both the innings, he tried hard to steady the Indian ship which was sinking sooner that one could imagine. In the 4th innings, the English were chasing 6 wickets for a victory. The Indians crumbled like a pack of cards except for Rahane who went down fighting with an unbeaten half century (52).

Before travelling to England, Rahane averaged 61.83 having scored 371 runs in 4 tests including a century in New Zealand. That’s impressive by any standards, which rightly got him picked over Rohit Sharma in the squad. In all the 3 tests played in England till now, Rahane has showed us a spark of what he is capable of. He sure has the capability to bat higher up the order but that is not what he is meant for- just taming the new ball. At number 5 the team’s batting depth gets exposed. The fall of number 5 is the beginning of the end of a team’s batting. The number 5 needs to be guarded by a soldier who is not just skilled but patient enough to put his skills to use.

Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane is a gifted cricketer who has the potential to become the mainstay of the Indian batting order. Let’s just hope the BCCI doesn’t have any spoilers in mind.