Ace Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane is burning the batting charts playing for Leicestershire in the County Championship in a scintillating touch. Following a phenomenal run in the One-Day Cup- 378 runs off 10 innings-, the right-handed opening batsman for the side took no time to get into stride in Division Two of the Championship. He hit an outstanding century against Glamorgan and in the process, his first ton for Leicestershire and second in this edition of the County Championship.
Leicestershire suffered early jolts to be reduced to 37/2. It was here that Ajinkya Rahane came in to bat. First, he shared an important 37-run stand with Ian Holland. Then, he joined hands with Peter Handscomb for a game-changing 183-run partnership. The partnership, reasonably important, made sure Leicestershire’s innings got some concrete shape to come into a safe position as the game ended in a draw.
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Meanwhile, Rahane’s century had that sublime cut shot off Mason Crane to go to the vacant deep point boundary. There wasn’t much in terms of celebration, yet it was an emotional one. The satisfaction was written large on his face for getting to that milestone. His century is a strong statement to his potential comeback to the Indian Test side for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia later this year.
Ajinkya Rahane registers his second #CountyChamp century and first for Leicestershire pic.twitter.com/LR05eM09nx
— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) September 1, 2024
As for the match, Leicestershire opted to bowl first and eventually batted first. They had a pretty bad start to their first innings, getting bowled out for 251 runs in 69 over. Ajinkya Rahane was the second-leading run-getter for his side, next to Handscomb.
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To this, Glamorgan responded with a huge total of 550 in the first innings, thanks to Colin Ingram’s brilliant 257. Coming to Ajinkya Rahane, having raised his century, he got out for 102 off 192 balls, caught behind not too long afterwards. Having said that, his knock was a real masterclass in composure and technique. The final result was a draw, with Handscomb not out on a well-made 139.
Undoubtedly, Rahane’s performance has given a fillip to his claim for a slot in the Indian Test squad, and his graceful innings here will remain one of the highlights of his County sojourn.
