Ajinkya Rahane birthday special: Top 5 innings by the right-handed batsman

Born on June 6, 1988 in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, Ajinkya Rahane turns 34. The classical right-handed batsman has been a major part of India's middle-order in Test cricket.

The vice-captain of the Test side guided India to a spectacular Border-Gavaskar series win Down Under.

Rahane has been incredible in the longest format for India and he is expected to play a major role in the upcoming World Test Championship final and Test series against England.

Here are the top 5 innings by Ajinkya Rahane:

112 vs Australia (MCG): "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," this quote perfectly depicts Ajinkya Rahane's character and demeanor under pressure. After a disastrous outing in the first Test and Kohli unavailable for the rest of the series, it was all up to Ajinkya to motivate his side. Rahane smashed a magnificent century in the first innings in a low scoring match and guided India to one of the most memorable wins of all time.

103 vs England (Lord’s): Rahane was the hero of the historic Indian win at Lord's after 28 long years. Put into bat on a lush green track where almost every Indian batsman struggled, Rahane stood strong at one end and played some delightful shots to take India to 295. James Anderson and Stuart Broad were spitting fire on the track but even they failed to get Rahane quickly.

147 vs Australia (Melbourne): Rahane has perfectly played the role of savior at several instance for India, especially against the Aussies. After Australia posted 530 in their first innings of the third Test of the 2014/15 series, Rahane formed a massive partnership with Virat Kohli due to which the Indians were able to save the Test. Rahane scored 147 of just 171 balls which kept India's chances alive in the series.

126 vs Sri Lanka (Colombo): In the second test of the 2014-15 series against Sri Lanka, India had a lead of 87 runs in their second innings. Rahane extended India's advantage by playing a match-winning knock of 126 which helped India set Sri Lanka a target of 413. Rest of the work was perfectly executed by the Indian bowlers.

127 vs South Africa (Delhi): In the fourth test of the 2015 series against South Africa, team India were pushed on the backfoot in the first innings. Then Rahane came to the rescue. He was joined by Jadeja and Ashwin who guided India to 334. Rahane's 127 was the main reason behind India's another incredible win.