The Indian team had a great Test series against Australia in recent times as the Men in Blue after being all-out for 36 in the first Test match at Adelaide, came back strongly in the second Test match at Melbourne under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane.

After the first Test, the Indian batting unit was heavily criticized and with skipper Kohli leaving the team, everyone expected the subcontinental side to falter. But, Virat Kohli’s deputy Ajinkya Rahane led his side really well and showed immense discipline. Even India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour praised Rahane for the same.

“Yes, and it was a big thing. After the first Test match, many of the experts had written us off. Virat was leaving. Ajinkya was taking over as captain for the next Test. The responsibility was multi-fold. That Test match showed how good a player Ajinkya is,” Rathour told TOI in an exclusive chat.

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“It was one of the better innings I have seen in my life. There was cloud cover that day, conditions weren’t most helpful. The kind of discipline he showed was outstanding. There was no restlessness, he didn’t try to create any shots, he waited for his time and showed great control outside the off-stump,” he added.

The 52-year-old then revealed about Rahane’s discipline that even though he loves the ‘cut’ shot, he played his first cut shot when he was nearing his century.

“I remember, in one of my conversations with him earlier, he had spoken about the ‘cut’ being his favourite shot. If you look at that innings, I think he played his first cut when he was close to his 100. It tells you what discipline he showed in that innings,” Rathour signed off.

(With TOI Inputs)