India’s Test specialist and vice-captain in the purest format of the game, Ajinkya Rahane, was seen struggling in the course of the two-match Test series versus New Zealand, which came to an end on March 02 (Monday) at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
Rahane started well as he looked comfortable during the first innings of the series opener in Wellington and made a brisk 46. However, in his last appearance, Rahane was struggling to get going against the short-ball tactics adopted by the Kiwi pacers. He kept shuffling, looked uncomfortable and tried to counterattack only to perish for a 43-ball 9.
Decoding his struggles, former cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar schooled Rahane and told Times of India, “He’s making an extra movement with his hands while batting. He’s moving his bat too much in his backlift. He’s a fraction of a second late on to the ball. It explains why his head isn’t still when the ball is delivered.
You need to leave the short balls alone. They were bowling short-pitched stuff on a green top. Your shot selection becomes very important in such a case. You’ve to show a lot of patience and guts,” opined the 63-year-old regarding the Test specialist.
