India vs South Africa: South African pitches suit my batting style, says Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli took India to victory in the first ODI. (AP) Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli took India to victory in the first ODI. (AP)
With all the debate over his selection being justified by his crucial innings of 79 runs in the first ODI against South Africa at Durban coming to a close, Ajinkya Rahane said that he enjoys batting on South African pitches. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second ODI against South Africa at Centurion, Rahane said, “I am naturally an attacking batsman and these wickets suit me a lot. There is good pace and bounce. So these wickets suit me a lot. So my plan was to take my time initially and if I get set, then carry on my innings,” he said.
The Mumbai batsman further added that he enjoys batting against challenging oppositions. “I enjoy playing against every opponent but I think teams like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, they have very good attacks in world cricket and I enjoy facing fast bowlers,” he said. “I enjoy facing challenges, and when you play in South Africa against this sort of attack you know that you are up for the challenge. We don’t take them lightly. As I mentioned, I just wanted to take my time but I enjoyed facing this challenge,” the 29-year old said.
Talking about batting on the No. 4 position, Rahane, who was earlier considered as a reserve opener in the side, said he has now become matured enough to bat at No. 4. “I am better equipped for batting at number four, I am more matured now. I know how to build my innings at number four,” the right-handed batsman said.
India have tried and tested several players at this position, including KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik. Rahane said his confidence of batting in the position has increased since Johannesburg Test. “Batting at number four is different. The confidence came from last Test win at Johannesburg, where I scored 48 runs. But I was actually determined to do well at that slot because I have batted at that position during the 2015 World Cup (in Australia and New Zealand),” he said.
Talking about his innings at Durban, Rahane said that he is looking to do perform better at the position. “We knew that it (270) was a par score on that wicket. Our bowlers did a really good job. Personally, I really enjoyed batting at that particular position and I am looking forward to doing even better,” he said.
India and South Africa will play the second ODI at Centurion on Sunday.
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