Press Trust of India
New Delhi, Dec 4: The first batsman to notch up a hundred against South Africa in the low-scoring Test series, Ajinkya Rahane said Friday that the key to his success was keeping a blank mind and playing each ball at its merit.
“When I was batting, I just wanted to stay blank and play one ball at a time. I wanted to build partnerships with the other batsmen. It felt really special that I batted with (Ravichandran) Ashwin while getting my hundred,” Rahane, fondly called ‘Jinks’ by his teammates, told mediapersons.
“In the first two Test matches, I was looking to play shots initially and that’s why I got out. I knew I was batting well. I spoke to Sanjay Bangar and Ravi bhai (Shastri) and they said ‘You have just got to take your time initially, play one ball at a time. If you get to 25-30, your instincts will take over’,” added Rahane. He admitted that he was playing shots a little too early which was leading to his downfall.
Rahane said the century was ‘special’ for him as he got it at the Kotla, where he had made his debut against Australia a couple of years back.
