Can Rahane lead India out of the depths of misery and to the glorious peaks of victory?
Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, both struggling in the Indian Premier League, will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they face each other on Friday.
Ajinkya Rahane is the fifth Indian to hit a hundred while batting at No. 7 away from home, during the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington.
Stylish batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has been named the vice-captain for India's upcoming tour of the West Indies, said he enjoys taking responsibilities and the new role will help him to improve his performance. "I had toured the West Indies as part of India A around 3-4 years back, at that time the wickets were little slow. In international cricket, there will be different wickets. I have heard there is good bounce and pace in Barbados, Jamaica," Rahane told PTI in Mumbai. "At the same time, I feel the wickets may be spin-friendly. We will get the idea of the wickets once we go there. But it is an exciting tour in the West Indies. We are going with a young Test team. We have done well recently and so we are looking forward to the tour," he added. Talking about his new role as a vice-captain, Rahane said: "As a vice-captain there will be responsibilities and I like to take responsibilities. When I toured Zimbabwe as a captain, I learned a lot from my team-mates, it was a good experience and we had won in Zimbabwe.
Virat Kohli has expressed his full support for Rajat Patidar as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), praising Patidar's consistency and discipline.
Premier middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Yash Dayal are set to be released from the Indian team for the Irani Cup in case they are not selected in the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh, starting September 27 in Kanpur.
Stand-in skipper, Rahane's patient 112 paved the way for India taking a substantial 131-run first innings lead against Australia, who were reduced to 133 for six by the end of the third day's play on Monday.
Pleased with his world record feat of eight catches in a Test match, Ajinkya Rahane credited former India captain Rahul Dravid for guiding him on slip catching and overall fielding.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the WTC Final between Australia and India, played at The Oval, in London, on Sunday.
The cricketing fraternity on Monday paid glowing tributes to India's batting talisman Virat Kohli on his retirement from the longest format after an illustrious 14-year-career.
One of the highlights of the series so far has been Ravichandran Ashwin's duels with Steve Smith and Tendulkar explained why the senior off-spinner enjoyed an upper hand.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the first Test between India and the West Indies, at Windsor Park in Dominica, on Friday.
India need not lose sleep over Virat Kohli's absence in the last three Tests against Australia but Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will have to shoulder extra responsibilities, batting great Sunil Gavaskar said.
India skipper Ajinkya Rahane said it was difficult to hold nerves when Zimbabwe looked like pulling away when home skipper Elton Chigumbura was batting solid from one end in the first ODI of the three-match series in Harare.
'Rahane has so much experience, he shared them with us, offered us tips on how to bat'
Ajinkya Rahane's struggles in limited-overs' cricket continued as India B comfortably beat India C by 30 runs to enter the Deodhar Trophy final, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur led India's spirited fightback, but Australia were sitting in control after stretching their lead to 296 runs at stumps on Day 3.
Ajinkya Rahane consciously ignored that he was closing in on his first Test century on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand, mindful that he had fallen in the 90s against South Africa when he was too keen to achieve the milestone.
'We had two good practice sessions, actually four, but two with pink ball -- one during the day and one under lights. It was actually exciting'
'All of us have played domestic cricket in almost empty stadiums, so that's an experience all cricketers are used to'.
Harvinder Singh was one of India's most promising pacers in the 1990s having played three Tests and 16 ODIs.
After the one-off Afghanistan Test match, Rahane has nothing to look forward to as he has been dropped from the limited-overs side which is going to UK first. The Test series against England is scheduled to start on August 1 after a limited-overs series featuring three T20 Internationals and an equal number of ODIs beginning July 3.
With Ajinkya Rahane making a comeback, Wriddhiman Saha brushed aside questions on his chances of a India comeback, stating his only focus is doing well for Gujarat Titans.
The Indians lost their last seven wickets for the addition of just 70 runs on the final day of the contest.
Shreyas Iyer named in Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu
It is difficult to visualize an Indian squad without a single representative from 39-time Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in a One-dayer at the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai, the scene of the country's momentous triumph in the World Cup just over six months ago.
Prithvi Shaw's inclusion comes as a fresh lease of life for the explosive batter who found himself out of reckoning in the Ranji Trophy.
Ajinkya Rahane opens up on the slot he likes to bat at, Virat Kohli's captaincy and India's record against spin
His century in the Perth Test during the 2018-2019 series is rated by many as his finest, which Virat Kohli also acknowledges as his best in Australia.
India cricketers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were, on Friday, conferred with the coveted Arjuna Award for this year and the previous year respectively by Sports Minister Vijay Goel in New Delhi.
India were eyeing a series-leveling win in the second Test by reducing Sri Lanka to 72 for two after setting the hosts a daunting victory target of 413, riding on Ajinkya Rahane's sparkling century.
India skipper Rohit Sharma already stated that the way England plays isn't their concern but the sub plot of the five-match series will be England's 'Bazball' vs India's spin.
'I would like to mention, he fulfilled his responsibility in Australia with flying colours, it was amazing to see him lead the team towards victory, which has always been our goal," Kohli said during a virtual media interaction on the eve of the first Test against England.'
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between South Africa and India, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
'but in my mind, it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game again and the atmosphere.'
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
India captain Virat Kohli held on to his second position while stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane broke into the top 10 after gaining five places in the latest ICC men's Test batting ranking released on Thursday.
'Only few are brave': Kohli tweets birthday greeting.
"I think patience will obviously be the key. The challenge will be to keep going if you get a start."
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