India vice-captain will play his first Test at homeground Wankhede from Thursday, hoping to come out of lean patch
For most sportspersons, a break means taking a little breather, rejuvenating and coming back fresher. For Ajinkya Rahane, it means working harder on his game.
The Indian cricket team was given four days off after their victory in the third Test against England before assembling on Monday for their next Test here from December 8. Some Indian players chose to go home while some others including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel flew to Goa to attend Yuvraj Singh's wedding on Friday.
Rahane came back to Mumbai, and decided to have a three-day training of his own. After a brief running session on Saturday, the 28-year-old visited the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Indoor Cricket Academy again on Sunday to have a hit with the bat. Batting under the watchful eyes of his coach Pravin Amre, Rahane sweated it out at a makeshift net for around a couple of hours.
For the last hour of his session, Rahane faced four young local spinners, working on his footwork against the spinning ball. A bit defensive at first, Rahane played some lofted shots towards the end, constantly taking feedback from Amre before wrapping up his session. He'll be back on Monday as well.
It's safe to say that Rahane knows the magnanimity of the upcoming Mumbai Test. Apart from the fact that he is need of some runs, it will be the first time the Mumbaikar will play a Test in front of his home crowd.
After waiting for almost an eternity to sneak into the Test squad, Rahane has played 32 matches, quickly growing to become the most dependable batsman in the team. Pace, spin, seam, swing, the middle-order batsman has countered everything and made runs around the world. And, despite playing 11 Tests in India across nine different venues, Rahane is yet to experience the special feeling of playing at home.
The wait will end on Thursday.
"It's going to be extremely special not only for him, but for all the administrators of the Mumbai Cricket Association as well as cricket fans in Mumbai," former India Test captain and MCA vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar told DNA on Sunday. "Rahane has been playing for Mumbai since his school days, and everyone associated with the game in the city will be looking forward to a really big score from him."
None more than the man himself, though. Rahane has undergone an uncharacteristically dry spell with the willow in the first three Tests. More than the lack of runs, it's the manner of his downfall that would probably bother him more.
Apart from a beauty from England pacer James Anderson in the first innings of the second Test, Rahane's other dismissals have been more due to his own undoing. Twice in the first Test, he was cleaned up by spinners while trying to play a back foot flick on the leg side. Rahane repeating mistakes is akin to lightning striking twice.
In the third Test, he failed to misread a googly by leg-spinner Adil Rashid, getting trapped plumb in front. Spinners are supposed to be his bread and butter but at the moment, he's finding it a bit tough to digest them. Hence, the work on playing spin during the break.
"I think once he scores those initial runs and gets over that tricky little period at the start in which he has been getting out, I'm sure he will get a big one," Vengsarkar said. "He has not been in the best of form, but we all hope that he scores a hundred in Mumbai. We know he is very capable of doing that."
And more so at the Wankhede, a venue where he has bullied bowling attacks since a kid. Batsmen love scoring runs at select venues, and Rahane loves the Wankhede. He couldn't have asked for a better place to end his brief run drought.
"Coming back to Mumbai will help him. Rahane knows the Wankhede wicket very well, he knows the conditions very well. More importantly, he will be playing in front of his home crowd for the first time, and there will be so many local Mumbai boys and players cheering him up. All that plays a big role for a cricketer," Vengsarkar said.
With MCA deciding to provide free passes to school and college kids during the course of the Test, Rahane can expect plenty of support from his citymates.
"Kids will love to watch him bat at the Wankhede," Sameer Dighe, former India wicketkeeper-batsman from Mumbai, said. "Rahane is one of the most popular cricketers nowadays along with Kohli. Kids in Mumbai want to be like Rahane, they love his dedication and the fact that he is the most dependable batsman in the team. The crowd will be behind him, and that should help him find his form."
How Rahane would love that.
Once (Rahane) scores those initial runs and gets over that tricky little period at the start in which he has been getting out, I'm sure he will get a big one. He has not been in the best of form, but we all hope that he scores a hundred in Mumbai
–Dilip Vengsarkar, MCA vice-president
Rahane this series
1st Test, Rajkot: 13 & 1
2nd Test, Vizag: 23 & 26
3rd Test, Mohali: 0
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