Our batting was brilliant: Rahane
bengaluru — A delighted standin captain Ajinkya Rahane praised his batsmen after India’s emphatic innings and 262 run victory over Afghanistan in the one-off Test at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
“The way we played, especially batting, Shikhar (Dhawan), (Murali) Vijay, (Lokesh) Rahul and Hardik (Pandya). We did not take Afghanistan lightly. It was important for us to keep the basics and good habits,” Rahane said at the post match presentation ceremony.
Openers Dhawan (107) and Vijay (105) scored tons as Rahul (54) and Pandya (71) racked up half centuries to blunt the Afghans’ spin threat and post a challenging total.
Rahane praised Afghanistan pace duo of Yamin Ahmadzai and Wafader, who shared five wickets and looked good in the final session of the opening day.
“Their seamers bowled really well, especially in the third session on Thursday and I am sure they will go a long way,” Rahane added.
Man-of-the-match Dhawan said Afghanistan will learn from this and once they start playing Test cricket more regularly, they will get better.
“I want to congratulate Afghanistan for making it to this level and Eid Mubarak to them. It’s always a learning process. Once they play other sides and start winning, they will get confidence. It’s a big boost for their country. I would like to thank the audience for coming here,” Dhawan said.
On his batting, the southpaw added: “Really happy about the way I’ve been playing.” —