New Delhi: Amid the brilliance of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya in the Australia ODI series, one may not have noticed the consistency put forth by Ajinkya Rahane with the willow, but the opener ramped up his fourth consecutive fifty-plus scores in Nagpur on Sunday to join Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli on an elite list.
Eying an around-par 242 in a turning-Nagpur track, India openers Rohit Sharma (125) and Rahane (61) put forth a stunning and yet another 100-plus opening stand to give the hosts that initial push and confidence. Rohit's love affair with the willow when it comes to Australia might have overshadowed his partner's half-century, but it is indeed worth applauding for Rahane who very comfortably filled in the gap of Shikhar Dhawan. With seven boundaries, he notched up his 24th ODI fifty – fourth in a row.
With that ravishing 61 in Nagpur, he joined Sachin and Kohli on the list of Indian batsman with four consecutive fifty-plus scores against Australia in ODIs. He also became the eighth opener to achieve the feat of four successive fifty-plus scores on more than one occasion. Only Tendulkar is the other Indian on the list with three such instances to his name.
Well, for Rahane, he has indeed filled up the gap for Dhawan. In the absence of Rohit during the Windies tour, he had a similar record to his name – four consecutive fifties in the Caribbeans. But he missed his chances in the historic Sri Lanka series. And then again, in absence of another opener, he has a similar record.
Team India will now head to Ranchi for the T20I series against Australia, but Rahane has failed to make it to the squad for the three-match series.
