Former India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has given a stern response to his critics with a century in Mumbai’s first match of Ranji Trophy 2022 season. Playing at Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, Rahane reached the three figures against Saurashtra in the Elite Group D fixture.
Top-order collapse
The veteran Indian batter came to bat after Mumbai openers Prithvi Shaw and Aakarshit Gomel lost their wickets early in the innings. Mumbai skipper Shaw became defending champions captain Jaydev Unadkat’s victim whereas young Chetan Sakariya got rid of Gomel. Mumbai lost their third wicket in the first session as well with Chirag Jani getting rid of Sachin Yadav.
Rahane, Sarfaraz take control
Struggling at 44/3 in the 13th over, Sarfaraz Khan joined Rahane in the middle. The two played out the new ball and stabilised the innings. The 33-year-old took his time and reached his century from 212 deliveries. Sarfaraz was solid at the other end as well. The two batters got Mumbai past the 200-run mark on Day 1 of the game. Rahane hit a couple of sixes in his knock as well.
The two batters shared an unbeaten 219-run partnership for the fourth wicket. While Rahane took the defensive approach in the third session, Sarfaraz accelerated and looked to score boundaries. Rahane remained unbeaten for 108 off 250 deliveries including 14 fours and two sixes. Sarfaraz increased his strike rate as he remained unbeaten for 121 off 219 deliveries including 15 fours and two sixes. For Saurashtra, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja turned out to be the most expensive on Day 1. The 31-year-old left-arm spinner bowled four maiden overs but ended up scoring 100 runs from 24 overs.
Earlier Shaw won the toss and elected to bat first.
Rahane’s worrisome run
Rahane has had a poor run in the red-ball format since his century against Australia in 2020. In 2021, he managed to score just 479 runs from 23 innings at an average of 20.82 including just two half-centuries. He started the year 2022 with a half-century but then the hard work was undone by three single-digit scores in South Africa which was one of the reasons why India faced a series defeat. His form along with Cheteshwar Pujara has been a concern for India in the longest format of the game.
