Ajinkya Rahane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane in RR Jersey
Personal information
Full name	Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane
Born	6 June 1988 (age 26) Ashwi KD, Sangamner,Maharashtra
Nickname	Jinks
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	India
Test debut(cap 278)	22 March 2013 v Australia
Last Test	6 January 2015 v Australia
ODI debut(cap 191)	3 September 2011 v England
Last ODI	26 March 2015 v Australia
ODI shirt no.	27
T20I debut(cap 39)	31 August 2011 v England
Last T20I	7 September 2014 v England
T20I shirt no.	27
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2007–present	Mumbai
2008–2010	Mumbai Indians
2011–present	Rajasthan Royals
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 14 51 74 111 Runs scored 1077 1,502 6,495 3,795 Batting average 44.90 31.29 58.09 35.46 100s/50s 3/7 2/9 22/28 6/24 Top score 147 111 265* 187 Balls bowled – – 108 42 Wickets – – 0 3 Bowling average – – – 14.33 5 wickets in innings – – – 0 10 wickets in match – – – n/a Best bowling – – – 2/36 Catches/stumpings 5/– 25/– 60/– 50/–
Source: Cricinfo, 10 march 2015

Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian international cricketer. He represents Mumbai in domestic cricket. He is a right-handed batsman who made his international debut in a T20I againstEngland at Manchester in August 2011 and made his Test debut against Australia in March 2013.He is considered as the best man to fit into the big shoes of VVS Laxman, one of the greatest test batsmen india ever produced.^[1][2] In Indian Premier League, he currently plays for the Rajasthan Royals.^[1]

Rahane made his first-class debut in 2007–08 season and averaged an impressive 62.04 after 100 innings. Rahane scored over 1000 runs three times in five seasons. In the 2011 Irani Trophy match againstRajasthan, he scored 152 and that innings helped him get selected in India’s Test squad. With batsman Shikhar Dhawan injuring his fingers, Rahane made his Test debut in the 2013 Border–Gavaskar Trophy. He was also part of the India tour of South Africa, 2013; India tour of New Zealand, 2014 and India tour of Australia, 2014–15. His first Test century came at Basin Reserve, Wellington in the last match of the series.

Early and personal life[edit]

Rahane was born on 6 June 1988 in Ashwi KD village of Ahmednagar district to Madhukar Baburao Rahane and Sujata Rahane in a Marathi-speaking family basically from village Chandanapuri, Tal-Sangamner.^[4]He has a younger brother and sister.^[5] When Rahane was seven, his father took him to a small coaching camp with a matting wicket^[4] in Dombivli,^[6] as they could not afford proper coaching. His mother would walk 2 km with Rahane to the coaching centre every day.^[4] Since he was 17, Rahane took coaching from former India batsman Pravin Amre.^[7]

Rahane cleared his Secondary School Certificate from SV Joshi High School, Dombivli. He meditates every day and is a devotee of Shirdi Sai. In addition to playing cricket, Rahane is also a karate black belt.

Rahane is married to Radhika Dhopavkar. Their marriage was an arranged marriage and took place in Mumbai on 26 September 2014.^[8]

Domestic career[edit]

Rahane had performed well when India U-19 toured New Zealand in early 2007 with two hundreds. The tour boasted future international stars such as Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Ishant Sharma, Tim Southee,Trent Boult and Ravindra Jadeja. The scores in New Zealand impressed the selectors and they picked him for the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in Pakistan. He had no first-class experience prior to this match in Karachi.^[9]

First-class career[edit]

Rahane made his first-class debut, at the age of 19, for Mumbai against Karachi Urban in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy in September 2007, at Karachi, when most of the first-choice Mumbai players were unavailable for various reasons. Opening the innings with Sahil Kukreja, he scored a century on debut 143 (207) against the Karachi Urban attack comprising Anwar Ali. They notched up an opening partnership of 247, as Kukreja scored 110.^[10] Rahane was subsequently picked for the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India.^[9]

He made his Ranji Trophy debut for his first-class side Mumbai in the 2007/2008 season. His wonderful Ranji season followed an impressive showing for West Zone in the 2007–08 Duleep Trophy, where he scored 172 against an England Lions attack comprising Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Steve Kirby and Liam Plunkett.

Rahane, with 1089 runs in his second Ranji season (2008–09), was a crucial factor in Mumbai's 38th title win. He continued to impress in domestic cricket, scoring three hundreds each in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons of the Ranji Trophy.^[11] His first-class top score of 265 not-out (batting at no. 3 for Mumbai) came against Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal in 2009-10 season.^[12] As Rahane scored over 1000 runs thrice in his five seasons, a Test call-up became inevitable. In the 2011 Irani Trophy match against Rajasthan, Rahane scored 152 and that innings helped him get selected in India’s Test squad.^[9]

List A career[edit]

Rahane made his List A debut for Mumbai against Delhi in the Ranji One-day Trophy in March 2007, at Delhi.^[13] Scoring 61 runs on debut he was instrumental in 171 runs match winning opening partnership with former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer.

Two centuries in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia brought him a place in the India ODI squad for the tour of England in 2011.^[14]

Rahane progressed through the Mumbai ranks and has also been a part of the Indian U-19 team and the India A. Ajinkya Rahane has also turned out for India Blue and India Green in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy.

International career[edit]

Test career[edit]

Rahahe was named in the Test squad to play the West Indies in November 2011. Rahane was carried in the squad for 16 months and in his presence, he saw seven players make their debuts.^[15] His performance in the limited-overs cricket (ODI and T20I) during that period was also not encouraging, as he averaged around 25 in both ODI and T20 cricket, and struggled for form in the series against Pakistan and England (January 2013).^[16]

Rahane finally made his debut in Test cricket on 22 March 2013 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi. According to the media, Rahane got this chance through "sheer luck". Shikhar Dhawan, who made a dazzling start to his career in the third Test at Mohali scoring 187 on debut, was the obvious choice for the Delhi Test until he suffered an injury to his knuckles on his left hand. Gautam Gambhir, who was picked as a replacement for Dhawan, was sidelined owing to jaundice. Rahane was handed his India Test cap by senior bowler Harbhajan Singh. It also brought an end to a lean patch for the 40-time Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, who did not produce even a single Test player for India in since May 2007.^[15]

Rahane was named in 15 man squad to tour South Africa in December 2013 Where he bat at no. 6 And made 209 runs at an average of 69.66 (including a 96 of 157 balls at Kingsmead, Durban when India was in trouble) against the bowling attack comprising Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. "For a man who had spent many a tour and series warming up the bench, carrying drinks, wondering when his opportunity will come, he has taken his chance with both hands, even though it arrived in the most difficult of conditions to bat in", cricket pundit Sidharth Monga wrote from Durban after the series. Rahane finished as India's third-highest run-getter in the series, but he was in the most precarious position of all before the series began.^[17]

Rahane made his first Test ton at Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand on 15 February 2014 against New Zealand When India Tour New Zealand For 2 Match Test series ^[18] India was in a difficult position when Rahane came to the crease at 156 for five and by the time he departed with 118 India were in a match-winning position ruined by Brendon McCullum’s triple century And James Neesham's Debut Hundred^[19] "He had a mountain of first-class runs backing him, of course, but did he have what goes around by the queer name of X-factor? Did he have that extra edge in his game and personality that separates top-class international players from the rest? Was he merely humble, or was he unable to assert himself, unable to absorb real pressure? After his first two Test tours to South Africa and New Zealand, we can safely conclude it must be the former. Underneath that seemingly soft exterior lurks a solid Test batsman, and he was on display at the Basin Reserve", ESPN Cricinfo wrote in their analysis.^[20]

Rahane played in the Investec Test Series (India tour of England, 2014) in England. His previous overseas performances (in away Tests, Rahane averaged 61.83 having scored 371 in four Tests including a century and two fifties) earned him a place in the playing eleven over Rohit Sharma.^[18] He justified his selection by making his second hundred at the second Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground. Put in to bat on a green-top wicket by Alastair Cook, India collapsed to 140 for six by tea, only to be rescued by Rahane's century. He was supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who scored a valuable 36, besides putting on 90 runs for the eighth wicket.^[21] In the process, Rahane became the fourth Indian batsman to post a Test century on his first appearance at Lord’s, joining Sourav Ganguly, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ajit Agarkar.In the next match in the series at Rose Bowl, Southampton Rahane scored half centuries in both the innings. In the first inning, he put on a 74 run partnership with Rohit Sharma on day 3 but was soon dismissed after tea-break.^[22] In the second innings, he put up a lone fight as Indian Batting lineup crumbled on day 5 being bundled out for just 178 losing the match by 266 runs. Rahane remained unbeaten on 52 and was India's top scorer in both the innings.^[23]

ODI career[edit]

Two centuries in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia (2011) brought Rahane a place in the India limited-overs squad for the tour of England. He made his debut against England at Chester-le-Street as a replacement for opener Virender Sehwag. Although Rahane made 40 runs at strike-rate of 90.90, India's hopes of their first victory of the 2011 summer against England were thwarted by a washout at Chester-le-Street.^[24]

He did well in his maiden international series (2011 NatWest Series), against England in England, and in the return series. He made a 47 ball 54 on his second match of the latter tour, which still remains his only half-century against a quality opposition outside Asia. His top-score is 91 (104), scored against England at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali in October 2011.^[9] The next two years were not great for Rahane.He got limited opportunities and he failed to impress in his next few limited over matches against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England. He scored a fifty in the India tour of Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.This was his only half century in two years. He then played a single ODI against South Africawhere he was not even able to hit the double mark.His dismissal form continued against New Zealand. He was only able to reach double figures only once in the five ODI's during the tour of New Zealand.

He was then selected to play in the 2014 Asia Cup.He had a decent run in the cup. He score two half-centuries.He followed it up with one more half century against Bangladesh.Next was the tour of England.He was selected in the team as middle order batsman. But owing to an injury to Rohit Sharma in first odi, he was promoted up the order .^[25] In the next four odi's, he opened the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan. He impressed as an opener in this tour.In the third ODI,he got his maiden ODI hundred against England.He scored 106 off 96 balls and made a record opening partnership of 183 along with Shikhar Dhawan. India won that match by 9 wickets.^[26]

In a crucial do-or-die match in the Carlton Mid Triangular Series in Australia in 2014–15, Rahane guided India against England. This match was to be the decider of who would enter the final against Australia. But he was caught out at 73 in 101 balls by Steven Finnand India posted just 200 in 48.1 overs, losing the match.^[27]

T20I career[edit]

Rahane made his international debut for India in a Twenty20 International against England at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester in August 2011. He scored a half-century on this match (61 of 49) against an England attack comprising Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan. The match was the only T20I played by former Indian captain Rahul Dravid.

Rahane was part of Indian team make it to the final of 2014 World T20. After sitting on the bench for the first 3 matches he got a chance to play against Australia where he scored 19 runs. He gave India a good start in the semi final scoring 32 runs as India went on to win the Match.

IPL career[edit]

Rahane was widely regarded as not being a Twenty20 player going into 2012 Indian Premier League, but had a superb season for Rajasthan Royals. Previously he was in the Mumbai Indians squads and got limited opportunities.^[9]

Rahane has had a successful stint with Rajasthan Royals so far, playing with a tight technique under Rahul Dravid's mentorship.^[28] Rahane rose to prominence in the Premier League world in 2012 season for Rajasthan Royals. He hit a match-winning 98 in his first game of IPL 2012 against Kings XI Punjab^[29] and followed that up with an unbeaten 103 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.^[30] His 84 off 63 balls against Delhi Daredevils^[31] was in vain though, as they lost by just one run. In Premier League 2012 Rahane became the first batsman to hit a century and emerged the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals.^[24] He was retained by the Royals for the 2014 Premier League season.^[32]

Playing style[edit]

Although Rahane batted in the top three for Mumbai for his entire career - he started out as an opener and shifted down to No. 3 later - he plays as a middle-order batsman for the Indian national team.^[33] Rahane is widely praised for his batting technique, commitment and discipline to the game. He is sometimes described by the pundits as "one of the rising stars of Indian cricket".He has been hailed as the next Dravid because of his consistency and his batting technique.^{[19][34][35][36]}

International centuries[edit]

Test centuries[edit]

	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Date	Result	Ref.
[1]	118	5	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	14 February 2014	Drawn	[37]
[2]	103	7	England	London, England	Lord's Cricket Ground	17 July 2014	Won	[38]
[3]	147	13	Australia	Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	26 December 2014	Drawn	[39]

ODI centuries[edit]

	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Date	Result	Ref.
[1]	106	33	England	Edgbaston, England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	2 September 2014	Won	[40]
[2]	111	38	Sri Lanka	Cuttack, India	Barabati Stadium	2 November 2014	Won	[41]