On a 450-500 wicket, Kohli and Jadeja made 600 look easy, says Ajinkya Rahane

India have got themselves into a strong position in the second Test at the MCA Stadium in Pune. With a first-innings trail of 565 runs and seven wickets in hand, chances for South Africa to make a comeback look bleak. The reason for the hosts’ dominance has been owing to the 225-run stand for the fifth wicket between Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who got a promotion.

Kohli notched his seventh Test double ton and stayed unbeaten on 254 with 33 fours and a couple of sixes. Jadeja was unfortunate to not get his second Test century as on 91 as Senuran Muthusamy got rid of him. Immediately after, India declared with the score at 601 for five in 156.3 overs.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane, the vice-captain, reckoned that it wasn’t a 600-run strip in Pune and it was only because of Virat and Jadeja that the 600-run barrier was crossed. He also lauded Mayank Agarwal for building the platform for the massive score with his second century on the first day.

We were thinking about 500 plus: Rahane

“The way we batted (took us to a score in excess of 600). There was assistance for fast bowlers, Mayank batted well. It was important to play that one hour really well in the morning,” Rahane was quoted as saying in the press-conference after the day’s play.

“We were thinking about 500+. The manner in which Virat and Jaddu batted, it looked so easy from the outside. I don’t think it’s a 600+ wicket, it’s a 450-500 runs wicket,” the middle-order batsman mentioned.

From a personal front, Rahane did reasonably well. The Mumbai batter scored 59 runs off 168 balls with the help of eight boundaries. He also shared a 178-run stand with Kohli before perishing to Keshav Maharaj, who picked up his 100th Test scalp with the solitary wicket he got in the innings. Rahane stated that his stand with the captain was important for India.

“We (himself and Kohli) enjoy each others’ company. We communicate really well whenever we bat together. We knew we were one batsman short and we had to get that partnership going. That partnership between us was really important,” Rahane added.

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