India captain Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy has earned him praises from former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar liked the character shown by Indians under Rahane's leadership.
Rahane not only made good bowling changes but also scored a hundred with the bat on day two of the Boxing Day Test match. He was run out on 112 in the first innings after an attempt to steal a single.
India is playing without their key player and full-time captain Virat Kohli, but they have still managed to keep Australia under pressure from the first innings of the match.
Akhtar lauded Rahane for regrouping the team and make a solid comeback after being bowled out on a score of 36 in the last match.
"I get happy to see the character of teams. One man takes the onus of changing the scenario of the match. Team India has regrouped and smashed Australia. They have also shown the world that they have the power to regroup," Shoaib Akhtar said on his Youtube channel.
"This is the character of a team under a captain like Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane, who is a Maharashtrian, is a sensible, very cricket savvy guy and did very good captaincy, " Akhtar added.
Indian bowlers picked Australia's six wickets on 133 runs by the stumps of day three. The hosts currently have a lead of two runs and if India manages to bowl out them early on day four, it could result in an easy win for Rahane and co.
"You can see his bowling changes, the way bowlers responded. Rahane was calm under pressure and did perfect maneuvering in field placements. Rahane has shown maturity.
"Teams build on the characters of captains, bowlers respond, batting line-up charges in. Rishabh Pant played a handy cameo but Jadeja was effective. You have to praise Rahane for his knock of 104 runs and bringing India in the driver's seat vs Australia," Akhtar further said.
