Ajinkya Rahane was sent at number three against Sri Lanka in the second Test. (Source: AP)
“The pitch is playing very, very well. If you are short of runs, here’s the buffet to serve your appetite. You just help yourself,” said Sunil Gavaskar on telly. And treated with kid gloves, Rohit Sharma helped himself to 79. After a long while, the Mumbai batsman played an innings of substance, batting at No. 5.
Virat Kohli would be happy, for he backed Rohit to the hilt and wanted him to find form. The experiment with him at No. 3 was not working. So the captain pushed him down the order and gave him the opportunity to play against the older ball, in batting-friendly conditions. Ajinkya Rahane had been made the sacrificial lamb.
Rahane has been India’s most consistent batsman in the longer format over the past couple of seasons. He scored at an average of 69.66 in South Africa followed by 33.22 in England and 57.00 in Australia. He has settled himself nicely at No. 5. Being asked to bat up the order, Rahane didn’t look comfortable and got out to an ordinary shot, playing away from his body to a Dhammika Prasad outswinger. He was not prepared for the change.
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Kohli stuck to his five-bowler policy with all-rounder Stuart Binny coming in for Harbhajan Singh. Once again, Cheteshwar Pujara was left out of the playing XI. A captain is entitled to back a player if he’s convinced about his talent. So there was nothing wrong in allowing Rohit the extra leeway. But Kohli himself could have come at No. 3.
He has batted in that position in the shorter format and is a better option than Rahane against the new ball. Kohli is in the form of his life with five centuries in his last seven Tests. Maybe he was reluctant to get out of his favourite No. 4 position. So Rahane had to bear the brunt of his captain’s whims.
Rahane is one of the nicest blokes in the circuit who cannot say ‘no’. But this is turning out to be a major ‘weakness’. He was made the fall guy in Bangladesh when MS Dhoni decided to promote himself up the order in the ODIs. At P Sara Oval, Rahane had to sacrifice his position because Kohli wanted Rohit at No. 5. Indian cricket will suffer if the mindless experiments upset his rhythm.
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