This Day That Year: Ajinkya Rahane Scores Match-Winning Test Century against England at Lord’s in 2014
Ajinkya Rahane scored a Test century at Lord's in 2014 and that too on this day (July 17). The right-handed batsman displayed batting of highest quality and guided his side to recovery after a top-order collapse. The likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad looked completely ineffective against the right-handed batsman and Rahane brought up his second Test century.
Registering name in the honour’s board of the Lord’s cricket ground is a dream of many players around as the venue is known as the ‘Mecca of Cricket.’ Nevertheless, India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane achieved the feat in 2014 and that too on this day (July 17). The right-handed batsman displayed batting of highest quality and guided his side to recovery after a top-order collapse. The likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad looked completely ineffective against the right-handed batsman and Rahane brought up his second Test century which eventually proved to be a match-winning one. Want to Make a Comeback in ODIs, Says Ajinkya Rahane.
Earlier in the game, England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to ball first. The conditions were overcast, green grass was seen in the pitch and the lethal England bowling line-up was operating. Anderson and Broad breathed fire with the brand new red cherry and ran through India’s top-order. The likes of Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Puajara and Virat Kohli were back in the hut as the visitors were tottering at 86/3. Skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja also failed to contribute with the bat as India looked all set to bundled out for a low total. Ajinkya Rahane Birthday Special: Did You Know 'Jinx' Has Picked One Wicket in IPL.
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However, Rahane had different ideas and he made a brilliant fightback. The talismanic batsman was aggressive during the course of his knock but didn’t play a loose shot. He was well supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who scored 36 crucial runs. In the final session of the Day 1, Rahane reached the three-figure mark with the help of 15 boundaries and a six.
He eventually fell prey to James Anderson for 103 but guided his side to a challenging total of 295 runs. His efforts proved to be fruitful as MS Dhoni and Men registered a famous 95-run victory at Lord’s. Ishant Sharma, who took seven wickets in the fourth innings was awarded the ‘Man of the Match.’
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2020 08:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).