2014 Lord’s ton and 79 in 2015 World Cup Ajinkya Rahane’s favourite knocks

Ajinkya Rahane l (Photo: AFP)


Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said in a QnA session on Twitter that he rates the 103 he scored against England at Lord’s during the 2014 Test series and the 79 he scored against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 2015 World Cup as his two favourite innings from his career.

Rahane’s 103 off 154 balls came at a time in the Test match when his teammates were struggling to keep up with the England pacers led by James Anderson.

He finally found an unlikely partner in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the pair put up 90 runs for the eighth wicket to ressurrect the Indian cause. The innings would put India on the way to their first victory at Lord’s in 28 years.

A year later, Rahane was the dominant part of a 125-run stand with Shikhar Dhawan against the Proteas. He smashed 79 off 60 balls while Dhawan was eventually dismissed on 137 as India made 307/7. This was followed by a brilliant bowling performance led by Ravichandran Ashwin and India bowled out a South African batting lineup that featured the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock for 177.

Rahane has been raising awareness on Twitter about the COVID-19 pandemic that India has been grappling with over the past month. Cricket has come to a standstill due to the pandemic spread and players have taken to social media to interact with fans in the meantime.