Ajinkya Rahane praises Karun Nair for his historic achievment

Indian batting mainstay, especially in the longest format of the game Ajinkya Rahane, said he was very impressed with rookie Karun Nair’s stupendous triple century at the Chepauk against England earlier this week. Nair remained unbeaten on 303 and became only the 2nd Indian after Virender Sehwag to hit a triple century in Tests.

Courtesy Nair’s once in a lifetime knock, India defeated England by an innings and 75 runs in the final Test after conceding 477 in the 1st innings. It was a monumental effort by the youngster and along with heroics from Ravindra Jadeja on the final day, India completed a 4-0 annihilation on England.

Rahane believes that India boasts of a terrific bench strength and deserves all the success they have achieved. “I am really happy with the way Parthiv (Patel) and Karun (Nair) played. I think they all deserve this success because they work so hard in first-class cricket. It’s all about the team sport. It’s all about enjoying each other’s success,” Rahane was quoted as saying by India Today.

“Really happy for Parthiv. Jayant (Yadav) also bowled well and scored a century. Karun also got a century. So, really happy for all these guys,” he added.

Speaking about his injury, Rahane said it though it hurts to miss out on international action but it’s all about taking positive steps at a time. “Injuries are part and parcel of this game and one cannot do much about it. It hurts when you are not playing but it’s all about how you take it and move forward and for me, it’s all about taking positive steps at a time,” he said.

He was overjoyed with the overall performance of the team and said the score line was a just a reflection of their domination. “It was fantastic to see that we played as a team and that’s what you want as a team member. Everyone is contributing, everyone is doing well and everyone is enjoying each other’s success. So really happy with the success of the team,” he said.

Rahane felt that team relied on their strength rather than thinking on the opposition’s strength and weakness. “We all know England is a very good and experienced team but in this series we focused on our strengths rather than thinking about their strengths or weaknesses. We talked about our strengths and positive attitude on the field and even at practice sessions we were focusing on our skills. That’s what really helped us.”

“As I mentioned, England is a very good team and we respected them on the field. It is important to respect your opponents and play to your strengths. So, really happy with the kind of cricket we played,” Rahane concluded.