It was in October 2016 that Ajinkya Rahane last scored a Test ton. It was against New Zealand in Indore where he scored a 188 that was all that a typical Rahane knock would offer. Caution, patience, perseverance, and discipline – much like the man himself. The closest next he got to a ton was against Bangladesh three months later when he scored 82 in Hyderabad. Since that knock, he has scored two half centuries in 10 innings and the wait for that magical three figure mark got longer.
Rahane chose the SSC ground at Colombo as his venue to end the century drought, his ninth in whites that again had all the makings of an Ajinkya Rahane century. He started off cautiously, accelerated when required and put to effect the ‘intent’ he has always been talking about during press meets. For Rahane, this was a significant century. “It was important for me to get this hundred, but I was confident. Even throughout that time when I was not getting a hundred for 9-10 Tests, I was confident about myself,” he said. “I knew that if I get in I would get a big one. It was all about thinking positive even throughout that period when I was not getting to three figures. I was batting well in the West Indies as well so wanted to carry that form forward coming to Sri Lanka. I batted well in the first innings at Galle, and decided that if I play positively I will convert it to a big one.”
That he played, with positivity and intent and accelerated the score when required. Rahane explained that it was a conscious effort to not play out maiden overs, especially during his marathon 217-run stand with Cheteshwar Pujara.
“My mindset was completely blank coming into this innings. I wanted to take my time initially but later on, Pujara and myself thought if we dominate and change the momentum, they will be on the backfoot straightaway, and that’s what happened. I was talking to Virat in the dressing-room before Lunch that if we get a 150-200 partnership, one big partnership, they will be on the back foot and that’s what actually happened, Pujara and myself got that partnership. The communication between us was that we hardly played any maiden overs so that we could put pressure on them.”
Rahane also listed his ninth ton as one of his best ones against spinners. “My focus was to dominate. It is all about the mindset coming into this game. I was visualising even in the dressing room and also in my room, about what are the important, good shots on this pitch and how I am going to dominate their spinners. We are talking about scoring briskly and the batsmen have done that till now. This was one of my best innings when it came to playing against spinners.”
