India vs England 2020-21, 2nd Test: Here's why Sunil Gavaskar lauds Ajinkya Rahane

India is having a great time against England in the second Test for the Anthony de Mello Trophy. Having lost the opening Test in Chennai, Ajinkya Rahane has been criticised for being highly inconsistent. Nonetheless, Sunil Gavaskar has backed him.

Team India is currently off to a great start against England in the second Test for the Anthony de Mello Trophy. After losing the opening Test in Chennai, the host has shown great composure in the second game so far, at the same venue.

Meanwhile, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was criticised after the first Test for his inability to score runs consistently. Nonetheless, he has been backed by former Indian legend, Sunil Gavaskar, who believes that when it comes to scoring runs on some of the most challenging tracks, Rahane can prevail.

“I think his confidence. On the left side, you see that his head is more outside the off stump, and therefore, he’s not able to judge where or how the ball is going to move. On the right side, you can see the foot also is going straighter and therefore, when the ball comes in for you to make that late adjustment, it becomes straighter. But, when your foot is moving straighter, you can still make that adjustment,” he told Star Sports.

“That’s what he has done. That’s the kind of batsman and cricketer he is, learning from mistakes. He’s somebody who is such a reliable player in a crisis for India. On tough pitches, he’s the one who scores runs,” he added.

Gavaskar was backed by former English cricketer, Mark Butcher, who hailed Rahane’s nifty footwork in the ongoing Test, besides brushing aside his unjustified criticisms. “The criticism was a little bit unjustified. He got a beautiful, juicy full toss to get himself off the mark. Since then, he’s been so definite in his footwork than he was in the first Test match,” he affirmed.

“We know that Rahane can sit back in the crease. He’s a short man, so he doesn’t mind playing those cut shots outside off stump. He’s been a great follow for Rohit. He has allowed Rohit in patches to go down the wicket in that session, but Rahane was the one who kept things ticking along. If India score anywhere around 400, I think it’s curtains, it’ll be 1-1,” he further opined.

Match summary
Winning the toss on Day 1, Indian skipper Virat Kohli elected to bat, as senior opener Rohit Sharma, along with Rahane and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, guided India to 329 in the first innings. As for England, it has already lost four wickets by lunch on Day 2, with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin striking twice.
Brief scores: India 329 (Rohit 161, Rahane 67, Pant 58*; Moeen 4/128, Stone 3/47) leads England 39/4 (Sibley 16; Ashwin 2/15) by 290 runs.