WTC final 2023, IND vs AUS: the resurgence of Ajinkya Rahane

One man who didn't get the amount of credit he deserved following India's historic Test series win in Australia in 2020-21 was undoubtedly Ajinkya Rahane.

After being 36 all out in the 1st Test in Adelaide to Virat Kohli leaving after that, Team India was in a muddle.

The responsibility of an improbable comeback fell on Rahane's shoulders and boy, did he make a statement.

India bounced back to win the series 2-1 and it was regarded as the best fightback in cricket history.

But during this time, Rahane the batter wasn't living up to the expectations. The writing was on the wall and Jinx lost his spot in Tests after India's 2-1 Test series loss in South Africa in January 2022.

In the 12 months before being dropped, Rahane's average fell to exactly 20.

But what changed in just over a year that made Rahane a frontrunner in India's middle order for the most important Test of them all?

Firstly, let's see how Rahane's possible replacements performed when Jinx was out of India's Test set-up.

Shreyas Iyer grabbed his opportunity with both hands with a hundred in his very first Test innings and performed exceedingly well for a while. But unfortunately, he picked up an injury and had to undergo surgery. No one knows when he'll return.

Suryakumar Yadav was brought into the Test team following an exceptional show with the bat in limited-overs cricket but he had a forgettable debut. Sky was out for 8 in the only innings he played and was dropped after that.

Rishabh Pant was India's game-changer in Tests but he had an accident which ruled him out indefinitely.

During this time, a few other batters also went through a lean patch.
While KL Rahul underperformed in whites and was later sidelined due to injury, Mayank Agarwal didn't last past the Sri Lanka series in 2022.

When all of this was happening, one batter who made a strong case for a comeback was Ajinkya Rahane.

IPL 2023 saw a different Rahane bat for the Chennai Super Kings. After his initial exploits in the cash-rich league, the BCCI named the 34-year-old in the World Test Championship squad.

But it wasn't because of his fiery knocks in the IPL but the foundation of his comeback was laid sometime back.

The former No. 5 batter for India had a great outing in Ranji Trophy, where he scored 2 hundreds and averaged almost 58.

It was followed by a double ton in the Duleep Trophy.
Clearly, the board was left with no other option but to bring Jinx back into the Test set-up.

Rahane's comeback might be circumstantial but the experience he brings to the side might be a blessing in disguise for the Indian team.

Life has now come full circle for Jinx. The man who led India's resurgence against the Aussies back in 2020 now stands against the same opposition 2 years later, where he'll try to end India's decade-long ICC trophy drought.