Sourav Ganguly lavishes praise on Ajinkya Rahane for his WTC Final performance

Rahane scored 89 runs off 129 balls, scoring 11 fours and a six in the process. The senior Indian batter also suffered injuries on his fingers and the head on Day 2 and Day 3 of the WTC Final. Rahane was dropped from the Indian team on the back of some average performances in January 2022, he was only in the Indian side owing to injuries to Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. 

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was all praise for the gritty Indian batter during his interaction with the broadcasters on Friday. Speaking to Star Sports, Ganguly said, “He (Rahane) was magnificent. He fought hard despite wickets falling at the other end. He will be extremely proud of what he has done till lunch,” 

“How good it is, after 18 months. He was away for 18 months from Test cricket, Many of them had written him off and probably he himself. It is not easy in Indian cricket as a batter to come back and make a statement. I think it is tremendous. There have been many comebacks in the past but not after such a long period,” the former BCCI President added

Ganguly also used Rahane’s performance as a pretence to target the Indian top batting order as well adding that, “He showed a lot to the dressing room that if you apply and if you have a little bit of luck which India have, you will be able to bat on this pitch, a lot of credit to Rahane, he was magnificent and Shardul Thakur as well. He has batted well for India. It’s a good fight for India,”

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting also praised Ajinkya Rahane for his performance at the Oval, he said to ICC,  “I am really happy to see him back out there and playing and when you see him play like that (against Australia) you just wonder why he hasn’t been in this India team for the last couple of years.

Updated: 10 Jun 2023, 09:48 AM IST