Rahane, who had scored just 10 in the first innings, struck a patient 119 off 260 balls, hit 14 boundaries and shared a 257-run stand for the third wicket with Sam Northeast
The spotlight was firmly on the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai as captains from all ten IPL franchises gathered for the official pre-season meet ahead of IPL 2025 on Thursday.
Rahane was left to pick up the pieces at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and responded in emphatic style.
Chahal's match-defining spell saw him take home his first Player of the Match for Punjab Kings.
Rahane admitted that the run out handed Australia the momentum as they recorded an eight-wicket win inside two and half days.
Yuzvendra Chahal led a stunning comeback for Punjab Kings with 4/28 as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in their low-scoring Indian Premier League thriller on Tuesday.
Rahane also played a good hand of 27 not out in the second innings as he along with debutant Shubman Gill (35 not out) steered India to an easy victory on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test.
India, down 0-2 in the series, made two changes to the squad, dropping out-of-form opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Ashok Dinda for Ajinkya Rahane and Shami Ahmed respectively.
Asked whether he supports home advantage in the IPL, Ganguly gave a measured response.
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane repaid the trust that was shown in them, adding it is easy to get excited by young talents but the team should continue showing faith in its senior players.
'This hundred was special. My time with Hampshire really helped me. I dedicate this hundred to the people who backed me, supported me when I was going through a rough patch'
IMAGES from the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday
Juhi Chawla added star power to the stands at Eden Gardens on May 4, passionately cheering for her team
With the series in their pocket, it will be interesting to see if India hand Ajinkya Rahane a long-awaited Test debut in New Delhi, says Harish Kotian
Captain Virat Kohli was at the crease having scored 44 runs along with Ajinkya Rahane who was batting on 29.
'I think there's going to be a very interesting story that's going to run through this series -- Kohli comes back as captain after Ajinkya Rahane was so good in Australia'
The official Instagram page of Kolkata Knight Riders shared the video of SRK talking to the team members, which is led by new skipper Ajinkya Rahane this season.
While it's a do-or-die game for KKR, who must win all their remaining three matches to stay in playoffs contention, the match will be more about celebrating Dhoni's legacy than the result.
SRH fielders were sloppy. KKR fielders took 9 catches.
Coming into the Test series, Rahane's form was a subject of widespread debate but he silenced his critics with scores of 81 and 102 in India's 318-run win over the West Indies in North Sound on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane's wretched form will not be a big concern for the South Africa-bound Indian team, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly.
Mumbai Indians' newcomer Ashwani Kumar made history on his IPL debut, becoming the first Indian bowler to take four wickets in a maiden IPL appearance.
Bright dreams of a new journey, desperation to stage a comeback and desire to rediscover old glory will be the dominant themes of this season's Ranji Trophy that begins at various centres across the country from Friday.
Openers Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill fell for ducks as India 'A' batsmen struggled on the opening day of their three-day practice match against Australia 'A' at the Drummoyne Oval, in Sydney, on Sunday.
Warner lauded Kohli's decision to be with his wife for the big day, while praising India's Test vice-captain Rahane for his measured approach.
Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal were on Monday released from the Indian Test side to participate in the Irani Cup in Lucknow.
Rahane (207 batting) and Jaiswal (228) toyed with the North East bowling line-up
'This squad has shown it can go on a run. But it's going to take a lot of determination and belief to do that.'
Here are how the bowlers fared in Guwahati...
But Kohli came to the defence of his deputy, insisting that Rahane is the team's most important batsman along with Cheteshwar Pujara.
Ajinkya Rahane played only six games for Delhi Capitals in the 13th edition of IPL.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday
Facing Anderson in English conditions was the toughest for Ajinkya Rahane by his own admission. Rahane, who has amassed over 4000 runs in Test cricket and has a century in England, the West Indies apart from India, emphasised on the need to be mentally fit during the coronavirus-forced lockdown period.
Gavaskar was impressed with Rahane's field placements
KKR's jerseys come in environment friendly packaging.
'After Adelaide we didn't discuss about what happened, we just wanted to play our game, show a good attitude, show good character on the field.'
Rajasthan Royals suffered their third straight defeat on Sunday when they lost to Chennai Super Kings by eight runs.
'Iron body with heart of a Lion. Mohammed Siraj.'
Ajinkya Rahane might have endured a wretched run with the willow but he was the "happiest man" at the Wankhede on Thursday, having led Mumbai to their 42nd Ranji Trophy title.
Jaffer seemed to have posted a motivational quote, but when you have a closer look and just pick the first letter from the different words, the cryptic message can be guessed as: "Pick Gill and Rahul".
