Plan was to bat, bat and bat: Rahane after century on County debut

Ajinkya Rahane struck a patient 119 off 260 balls for Hampshire on day three of their match against Nottinghamshire

The plan was to just bat, bat and bat," said  Ajinkya Rahane after becoming only third Indian to score a hundred on debut in County cricket. The Indian vice-captain in Tests struck a patient 119 off 260 balls for Hampshire on day three of their match against Nottinghamshire here on Wednesday. “I am really happy with my performance. I wanted to make it count. My plan was to bat, bat and bat. I was not thinking about the runs. I just wanted to be in the middle and put my team in a good position and that worked,” said Rahane. “It (discipline) is very important here as a batsman. I have been talking to teammates about batting plans, how I need to go on and keep batting. Just had a simple game plan, to try and play as late as possible,” said India's Test regular. Piyush Chawla was the first Indian to score a century on debut in County cricket while Murali Vijay was second. Rahane shared a 257-run stand for the third wicket with Sam Northeast who ended with 133. “He batted really well even in the first innings. Really enjoyed batting with Sam,” he said. Rahane, who has been ignored for the shorter formats, did not have the best of times in India's previous three Test tours to South Africa, England and Australia. Talking about the World Cup beginning May 30 in the UK, Rahane said, “I am definitely going to back India. We have a strong side and I am sure it would do well.”