Ajinkya Rahane is not having the greatest of time out in the field. He is struggling to find runs from his bat. His inconsistency in the middle order is proving costly for India. Rahane continued his poor form with the bat in the second Test and failed to score yet again. After struggling on Day 1, he perished on the very first delivery he faced on the second day. His way of dismissal was not different from any typical struggling batsman getting out. He pushed at the away-going delivery from Anderson and was caught in the slips.
Twitter users did not seem happy with Rahane’s performance at all. They went on to troll the Indian batsman for his poor display. Some called him a tailender while some termed him ‘a night watchman’. Check out some of the reactions from Indian fans here.
I'm a team man
When team needs me, I sit with them in dressing room. – Rahane— (Vi)Root (Injurit Kneebackrah) (@topgun_mav11) August 13, 2021
Rahane did his job…..of being a night watchman.
— Manya (@CSKian716) August 13, 2021
Kohli has scored the least number of runs for India in Tests since 2020. But he is conveniently left out of discussion when it comes to middle-order being out of form. Pujara, Kohli and Rahane are struggling. But Pujara and Rahane are the ones under pressure.
— Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) August 13, 2021
Did his job as a tailender, you can’t expect him to score like a batsman
Well played, Ajinkya Rahane ♥️ pic.twitter.com/mxXMPysfeB— A (@abhijeets09) August 13, 2021
Ajinkya Rahane 1(23) really needs a big score soon to get his confidence back. He has been India's most reliable batsman with top knocks: case in point a ton at MCG in 2020 & a fine match-winning century at Lord's in 2014. Has averaged only 26 in 22 Test innings since 2020
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) August 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/daniel86cricket/status/1426132727510847489
Actually both Pujara and Rahane. pic.twitter.com/BoArA0imgQ
— prans (@innahsaar) August 13, 2021
Not just Pujara and Rahane, even Kohli needs some big scores under his belt. Also, like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli among batting greats who does not have a century at Lord’s.
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/LoyalMIfan/status/1423277234521927695
Middle muddle for India?
It’s not just Rahane who is finding it hard to score runs. India’s middle-order, consisting of probably the best batters, is finding it hard to score consistently. Cheteshwar Pujara at number three has not played anywhere close to his standards. We all know him as the guy who holds one end, but he’s continuously finding it difficult, especially in England. Looking at his stats in Tests from 2020, he has played 13 matches and scored only 552 runs at an average of 25.09, including five half-centuries. In the first innings of the second Test, he played away from his body to a ball that could have been left alone.
The Indian captain and vice-captain at four and five have not been impressive either. Virat has scored 387 runs from 10 matches at an average of 24.18. Even in the first innings, he looked shaky. Meanwhile, Rahane has accumulated 541 runs at an average of 25.76 runs from 13 matches, including one century and one half-century.
