Ajinkya Rahane gives a befitting reply to selectors, scores ton on county debut

India’s Test vice-captain scored a century on county debut for Hampshire versus Nottinghamshire at Newport ground on Wednesday, May 22. Rahane failed in the first innings but made up for it in the second innings as he scored a fluent 119 runs.

Rahane came to bat when Hampshire was at 9-2, Rahane struck a 257-run partnership stand with skipper Sam Northeast. The right-handed batsman scored only 10 runs in the first innings but proved his skills in the second essay.

Rahane was dropped from the Indian Test team after he failed to score a century from 17 matches. He was then not selected for the 15-member World Cup squad. Rahane’s worst nightmare came when he was sacked mid-season as Rajasthan Royals’ captain and replaced by Steve Smith.

Earlier last month, Rahane became the first Indian cricketer who was selected to play for Hampshire county club.

Rahane became the third Indian cricketer to score a century on his county debut after Piyush Chawla and Murali Vijay. Piyush Chawla scored a century for Sussex against Worcestershire in 2008. Murali Vijay scored triple-century against Nottinghamshire in 2018.

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