Even as Ajinkya Rahane scored a fighting 89 in the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval in London against Australia to allow India to reach a total of respectability and post 296 in response to Australia's first innings score of 469, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that it is a bit far fetched to call the Mumbai batter 'a crisis man' based on this performance.
Notably, the Indian team were reduced to 71/4 at one stage before a partnership between Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja started India's recovery after which Rahane and Shardul Thakur added 109-run stand to ensure that India are not in danger of being enforced a follow-on. Notably, Rahane was making a comeback in Test match cricket after 18 months and ended up top-scoring for the team.
"I don’t think Ajinkya Rahane can be called a crisis batter. There’s another innings to go, the crisis has to be averted in a way that you either draw or win the game. But this innings, solely on the kind of odds… he’s done brilliant," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
"To call him a player in crisis… he has played an odd innings, but the old Ajinkya Rahane would follow it with low scores. Who knows, the new Ajinkya Rahane could be the Test batter 2.0. Maybe, he can carry it in the second innings as well," he added.
Despite Rahane's effort though, India ended up conceding a lead of 173 runs to Australia in the first innings and despite a better effort with the ball in the second innings, they would need an extrordinary batting performance in the final innings of the Test match to ensure a draw or an unlikely from here. The Aussies have already extended their lead past the 440-run mark and still have three wickets in hand with over 4 sessions remaining in the Test match.