World Cup 2015: Ajinkya Rahane, the silent assailant

In a cricketing culture where style is often known to trump substance, it's not easy being Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane. 

For starters, he doesn't possess any of those flashy, blingy traits that make many of his team-mates runaway superstars. Secondly, he isn't a big cricketer in the literal sense. Thirdly, he doesn't exactly take to attack like fish to water.

But in his understated and unfussy manner, relying on a solid template of technique, temperament and timing, the Mumbaikar goes about scoring important runs for India.

At the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, it was Shikhar Dhawan who won plaudits and prizes. And deservingly so. But there is no denying that Rahane's 79, off only 60 balls, went a long way in helping India post 307/7.

Rahane walked into bat after Virat Kohli was dismissed in utterly unfortunate fashion off the bowling of Imran Tahir. He got off the mark with a single to short cover. And before you knew it, he was batting on 10 off 11 balls, with no fours. The reintroduction of Wayne Parnell, who had conceded 28 off his first four overs, prompted Rahane to change gears almost automatically. Batting on 11 off 14 deliveries, Rahane proceeded to pull the left-arm pacer to the deep midwicket boundary to boost his strike-rate to three figures. It stayed that way.

The next ball, he slashed hard at a wide delivery to race to 20 off 16. In Parnell's next over, Rahane collected another four. He then attacked JP Duminy, hitting him for fours on either side of the wicket. Soon, he was batting on 50, off just 40 balls.

There was no stopping him. He then hit Parnell and Tahir for sixes off consecutive overs, displaying his repertoire by employing the pull and dancing down the wicket. The cherry on the cake was his six off Dale Steyn, who could only walk back to his bowling mark after Rahane launched him over mid-off. Steyn got him off the next ball, though, but by then Rahane had done his job. In 90 minutes, he changed the face of the game besides allowing Dhawan to do his thing.

Did you notice that Rahane didn't play any of those daring strokes Dhawan brought to the fore? That exactly is his strength. He still managed to score at better than a run a ball against Duminy (16 runs off 11 balls), Morne Morkel (14 off 13), Tahir (12 off 11) and, of course, Parnell (29 off 16).

Pravin Amre, Rahane's personal coach, was over the moon. "Prior to the match, he called me only to say that he was feeling confident. I guess he was right," said Amre, who is in charge of the Mumbai Ranji team. "Ajinkya has taken his game to the next level. Now-a-days, it's all mental. Things like technique have been sorted out over a period of time."

Given that he tamed the South Africans in their own backyard in the fag end of 2013, Rahane wasn't fighting any mental battles anymore. "You may have noticed that he is prepared for any situation. The other day, against Pakistan, they sent him at No. 7. Against South Africa, he batted at No. 4," Amre pointed out. There's flexibility for you.

Amre said his ward's knock reminded him of the great work Michael Bevan did for Australia for so many years. "Ajinkya didn't play a single rash shot. He relied on timing all along. Yet his strike-rate was over 100 (a whopping 131.66, actually). He picked the weakest bowler (Parnell), picked his spot and made it easier for Dhawan," Amre added.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also lauded Rahane, who has been India's most reliable batsman in overseas Tests in the last 12-14 months. "Well, there has been improvement, irrespective of the format. In Twenty20, ODIs or as a Test player, he has really improved," Dhoni said. "Rahane is definitely one of the individuals, who is not really rigid. He is quite open to ideas. Once he tries out a new idea, he gives you a good response as to whether it's working or not working for him. Also he's one of the fittest guys. You see him on the field, he's very quick, and his intensity actually never drops right from the first over until the 90th over. If you see a Test match, which to me is what fitness is all about," Dhoni added.

"The strength in his batting is the gift of timing and his ability to exploit gaps in the field to an extent. It's really good to see him get the kind of runs. More importantly, how he has been getting those runs," the skipper said. "If you normally ask him to do something, he would simply nod and say yes," Dhoni had a smile as he showed how the Mumbaikar nods like an obedient student.