Rahane has been India's shining star in India's woeful overseas performances.
He has held his own amidst successive failures by India in overseas Test series in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia, showcasing his worth with a calm and reliable presence in the middle order. Tigers at home, lambs overseas may be true for most as India have just one win and 15 losses in 21 Tests, but Ajinkya Rahane has made a mark for himself.
Rahane's importance can be gauged from the fact that he scored 209 runs (average 69.66) in South Africa, 162 (54) in New Zealand, 299 (33.22) in England and 399 (57) in the just-concluded series in Australia where he complemented M Vijay and Virat Kohli's efforts.
Three of his Test centuries have come in tough situations. His 118 in Wellington raised visions of an India victory before Brendon McCullum dug deep and played an inspirational knock. Rahane etched his name on the Honours Board in Lord's by getting to the milestone on a green track assisting swing and seam and in Melbourne, he shared a record 262-run stand with Virat Kohli to help India come out of the Test with their heads held high.
On the final day of the four-Test series, India appeared to be slipping to another defeat when they lost five wickets for 50 runs. Rahane, however, displayed tremendous grit during an unbeaten 38 to help India draw the match. His sense of calmness, elegance and maturity is a refreshing combination, even if his efforts have not been given due recognition.
There have been two reasons for that. First, some other batsmen has come up with a greater contribution, pushing his knock to the background. Secondly, perhaps more relevantly, the team's losing streak has pushed everything into the penumbra. This is nothing new for Rahane, though.
From the time he started playing for Mumbai and until his debut against Australia in Delhi, Rahane has been in the shadows. His consistency for Mumbai forced attention on his batting skills and hunger. He scored 1390 runs (66.19) in 2008-09, 887 (63.35) in 2009-10, including his best first-class score of 265 not out. He scored 1003 (83.58) in 2010-11. Overall, his average is 57.93.
Despite such handsome stats, he lost out to Rohit Sharma. In 2009-10, Rohit scored 718 (79.77), including an unbeaten 309 against Gujarat at the Brabourne Stadium. It was this knock that got Rohit the recognition ahead of Rahane. In the 2010-11, Rohit was a step away from a spot in the Test team but he was injured ahead of the Nagpur Test against South Africa. Luck continued to elude Rahane.
Rahane warmed the bench on the tours of England and Australia in 2011-12. Though, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman left the scene, Rahane's wait stetched. His opportunity finally arrived in 2013 because Shikhar Dhawan, who had made 187 on debut in Mohali, fractured a finger. He made 7 and 1 in Delhi and it seemed he would be a forgotten talent.
Meanwhile, after many delays, Rohit got his Test debut against the West Indies in November 2013 and scored two consecutive centuries. This was Sachin Tendulkar's final series and after his farewell, Rahane got his chance in South Africa and he grabbed it with both hands in Durban in December 2013.
Rahane weathered the storm -- a furious spell by Dale Steyn, actually and scored a gritty, unbeaten 51. India were in deep trouble in the second innings but his 96 helped India avoid an innings defeat. Though India lost the match by 10 wickets, Rahane had finally arrived. In every tour since then, Rahane has enhanced his credibility further.
That he has scored 1069 away from home at an average of 48.59 has already put him in an special bracket. With a lot of home Tests coming up, Rahane can look forward to building on his image as a reliable middle-order batsman with a never-say-die attitude in keeping with his home city, which like its cricket, does not give a second chance.
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