Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that Ajinkya Rahane's comeback is one of the brilliant ones in recent times, keeping in mind his performance on day three of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Ganguly hailed the veteran cricketer for proving his doubters wrong and that it is difficult to make a comeback as a batter in Indian cricket after a long time.
Rahane played a gritty knock of 89 to save India's blushes on day three after they had succumbed to 151-6, still trailing Australia by 318 runs. The right-hander's partnership of 109 with Shardul Thakur whittled Australia's lead to 173. Rahane reached his half-century with a six and it took a spectacular catch from Cameron Green to end his stay.
Ganguly reflected that it was a tremendous effort from Rahane after spending 18 months out of the side and making a statement like he did against Australia
"How good it is, after 18 months. He (Rahane) 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 50-year-old told Star Sports during a post-lunch show.
Sourav Ganguly feels Ajinkya Rahane has set an example for the dressing room:
Ganguly went on to claim that Rahane's innings serves a blueprint to the other Indian batters on how to play on this track and equally acknowledged Shardul Thakur's fifty.
"He was magnificent. He fought hard despite wickets falling at the other end. He will be extremely proud of what he has done till lunch. 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."
By Stumps on day three, Australia increased their lead to 296 and will look to maximize it further on day four.
