India vs New Zealand: Ajinkya Rahane Racing Against Time For His Spot In The Test Team

Ind Vs NZ: Rahane's Place In Danger In The Mumbai Test

New Delhi: India’s stand-in captain at Kanpur, Ajinkya Rahane’s place looks uncertain in the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. Test captain Virat Kohli will return after resting in the T20 series and the management will have a tough call on choosing the perfect eleven. Shubman Gill, who got the opportunity at the top order made a statement by hitting a half-century in the first innings.

Captain Ajinkya Rahane and his interim deputy Cheteshwar Pujara failed to leave an impact with their innings as India got no proper contributions from the top order in both innings. Tim Southee, with his outstanding skill of moving the ball around, has picked up 8 wickets in the match.

Shreyas Iyer hit a brilliant ton leading India to a total of 345 in the first innings. On the other hand, Rahane managed to hit just 35 runs before getting a chop back to his stumps while playing a cut shot. Things even got worse for him in the when he missed a straight delivery from Ajaz Patel in the first session of the fourth day. His average has dropped under 40, which makes his test spot in jeopardy.

Rahane has been outstanding as a captain in last couple of years, leading the team to a stunning victory in Australia earlier this year. However, his form has not been great since then. Rahane scored a match winning century against Australia in Melbourne Test after the 36 all out debacle in Adelaide. However, since that Test, the Mumbai lad has collected only 398 runs in 21 innings in a very long format.

There have been sharp criticism regarding his meagre average and his ability to not convert his score of thirties and forties to a hundred. With Virat back in the squad for the Mumbai test, Rahane might warm the bench against New Zealand.