India batter Ajinkya Rahane once again shined with the willow when his team needed him the most and played a defining knock to help the side avoid a follow-on against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 at Oval in London.
Rahane emerged as the top-scorer for India in their first innings with 89 runs and was well supported by Shardul Thakur, who added 51 runs. The brilliant innings of Rahane and Shardul ensured India finished on a respectable total of 296 on Day 3 of the summit clash.
Rahane’s exploit came after the woeful collapse of the Indian top order. Notably, the 35-year-old played beautifully throughout his innings and struck a few glorious shots. However, he also suffered many body blows in the process and even sustained a finger injury in the Ultimate Test.
While batting against Pat Cummins on Day 2, Rahane was hit on his finger, which was followed by medical treatment and a temporary plaster. The Mumbai cricketer’s injury made him struggle on Day 3 as well, and he didn’t take the field after India were bowled out.
Addressing the media after stumps on Day 3, Rahane opened up about his injury and said it wouldn’t affect his batting in the second innings. The middle-order batter also spoke about how India would look to move forward in the game.
“Painful but quite manageable (blow to his finger). Don’t think it’ll affect batting. Happy with the way I batted. Had a good today. We were looking to get 320-330 but overall we had a good day,” said Rahane.
“Australia slightly ahead in the game. For us it’s important to be in the moment, play session by session. First one hour will be crucial tomorrow. We know funny things can happen. Jadeja bowled really well, footmarks helped him against the left-hander. Still feel wicket will help seam bowlers,” he added.
