Gavaskar was impressed with Rahane's field placements
Former India batsmen Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Kaif hailed Ajinkya Rahane's unbeaten 104-run knock.
A few bruised egos will eye redemption when India square off against Australia in the second Test in Melbourne from Saturday, ready to bounce back in skipper Ajinkya Rahane's hour of reckoning after their batting debacle in the series opener in Adelaide.
Opener Musheer Khan (112) and veteran Siddhesh Lad (100 not out) hit centuries to rally Mumbai to 289/5 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Himachal Pradesh.
Danish Malewar's gritty 79 and opener Dhruv Shorey's attractive 74 helped Vidarbha reach 308 for 5 against defending champions Mumbai on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final.
The Indian Premier League IPL) throws up surprises every season, with underdogs rising to challenge established powerhouses, new players emerging as key contributors, or teams overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Every match days, the record books are rewritten as players consistently strive to push their personal bests and achieve new heights.
Images from Day 2 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand in Indore on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane's slump in form can't be 'judged' by anyone, not even skipper Virat Kohli, who feels that his Test deputy needs an arm of assurance around his shoulders as he figures out what exactly is he going through.
Ajinkya Rahane said it is a proud moment for him to captain India ahead of the the second Test match against Australia, starting in Melbourne, from Saturday.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
India failed to bowl out New Zealand on a deteriorating track on the fifth and final day of the first Test but skipper Ajinkya Rahane praised his players saying they tried their best and couldn't have done 'anything different'.
But Kohli came to the defence of his deputy, insisting that Rahane is the team's most important batsman along with Cheteshwar Pujara.
Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane says he analysed his batting a lot after twin failures in the first two Tests against England, the effort resulting in a characteristically gritty 81 at Trent Bridge.
Delhi use 11 bowlers vs Manipur
For KKR, IPL 2025 is slipping away rapidly. They need more than just a few tactical tweaks - they need clarity of leadership and bold but sensible changes in their playing XI.
'But yes, Melbourne Test hundred was really special. I said in Melbourne that my Lord's hundred was special but many people told me that I think Melbourne hundred was better than my Lord's hundred.'
India's Ajinkya Rahane has his own personality and it would be a mistake for him to try and copy Virat Kohli's leadership style in the final three Tests against Australia, former test spinner Harbhajan Singh has said.
Ajinkya Rahane brought calmness in the dressing room in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said on Tuesday after India recorded an epic series-levelling win in the second Test, in Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders rode on Venkatesh Iyer's explosive 60 off 29 balls to crush a hapless Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs to register their second win of IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
'The boys deserve all the credit for the character they showed, real character.'
Former captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said that Rahane has come of age.
Ajinkya Rahane is, more than anyone else, keen on getting big runs under his belt and it's a matter of just one game before the India vice-captain regains his form, head coach Rahul Dravid said on Monday.
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.
The South African's blistering 52 off 25 balls not only augurs well for him personally but for the franchise who are aiming to build a team from scratch for the next season.
Former coach Ravi Shastri termed Ajinkya Rahane's Test comeback as a reward for his impressive domestic show.
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru made an auspicious start in their latest bid to lift a maiden Indian Premier League trophy
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma will bat at the top of the innings.
Gautam Gambhir believes that the onus will be on stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane to lead the fightback against Australia
India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that talented Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is one player who has improved by leaps and bounds in recent times and is ready to don any hat for the team's cause.
'...the one that turned the match firmly in India's favour was the Johnny Mullagh medal-winning contribution from Rahane. The captain's century came at a time when India could easily have faded to a two-nil deficit, and it was this performance that gave his team the conviction that victory was attainable.'
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against an Indian side missing their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli through injury in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Needing just 106 runs to win with all 10 wickets intact at the start of the fourth day, the hosts eased past their target before lunch for the loss of just two batsmen.
Ajinkya Rahane was not amused with questions related to his poor form, insisting that concerns about his lean patch are unfounded and contribution doesn't mean a Test hundred in every game.
Rahane said Virat Kohli and his men are taking the match as just another game.
'Time has come for Indian selectors to pick same players in all formats of the game for rhythm and confidence' Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said he was surprised to not see Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane in the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against West Indies. In a tweet, Ganguly wrote, "There are many in the squad who can play all formats ..surprised not to see Shubman gill ..Rahane in the one-day squad". "Time has come for Indian selectors to pick same players in all formats of the game for rhythm and confidence.. too few are playing in all formats ..great teams had consistent players ..it's not about making all happy but picking the best for the country and be consistent..@bcci," Ganguly tweeted. On Sunday, India had announced the squads for the upcoming T20Is, ODIs and Test match series against West Indies. Many people expressed their displeasure over the omission of Gill from the squad as the player enjoyed good form in the recently-concluded five-match unofficial ODI series between India A and West Indies A. The player went on to amass 218 runs in the series against West Indies A. After India were knocked out of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in the semi-finals, former BCCI Secretary, Sanjay Jagdale had backed Rahane to be the number four batsman in the ODI format. "In my opinion, the Indian team needs a batsman like Ajinkya Rahane at number four. We have tried many options at the batting position for the past three months. We tried those batsmen who did not have a good record overseas. Rahane has always scored good runs in England," Jagdale had told ANI. Team India chief selector MSK Prasad on Sunday had announced the squads at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai for the upcoming series in Windies. Putting all speculations to rest about India captain Virat Kohli's participation in the limited-overs series, he was chosen to lead the team in all formats. Dhawan, who was ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an injury to his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb, returned for both ODIs and T20Is. Meanwhile, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was rested for three ODIs and as many T20Is. Veteran wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni was rested as well; Rishabh Pant will be keeping the wickets for the team. Pant has been named across all three formats and Wriddhiman Saha found a spot in the two Tests.
Promising India batsman Ajinkya Rahane is disappointed to miss out a hundred by a whisker but has said his match winning 98-run knock which helped Rajasthan Royals to notch up a 31-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in IPL V was very satisfying.
The batters who will be salivating at the prospect of breaching the 300-mark when IPL 2025 gets under way on Saturday.
India coach Ravi Shastri on Monday defended the team management's decision to leave out Ajinkya Rahane from the first two Tests in South Africa, saying Rohit Sharma was the best option going by form.
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