Secret of Rahane’s success: Practice with red ball for Oz before IPL (IANS Special)

By Khurram Habib New Delhi, Dec 30 : Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, while the focus of all participating players was on white-ball cricket, Ajinkya Rahane was preparing in Mumbai intensely with the red ball for the tour of Australia even though he was going to bat for Delhi Capitals prior to that in the IPL.
Rahane’s hard work seems to have paid off as he smashed a match-winning 112 against Australia in the second Test to help India win by eight wickets and level the four-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“This year has been a challenge because of Covid. It was tough to have proper practice sessions. Also the tour was such that there would be IPL in UAE and from there he was going to Australia. We prepared him not for IPL but for Australia. We knew that Aussies will come back strongly, especially with the short balls. Media was building up that too,” former India batsman Pravin Amre, who has been helping Rahane with his batting, told IANS on Wednesday.
Amre says Rahane had realised that there would be no opportunity to practice with red ball prior to Australia series, especially in the UAE where it will be all white-ball cricket. So, he took 10-12 days out for intense training doing two two-hour sessions daily. He would go back after a session and return for another in the evening.
“He worked really hard despite Covid. Basically, he managed his own practice sessions. Not one session but he used to do two sessions a day and just worked on challenges he would face in Australia. So, he had prepared himself well before going. He was aware that he would not get any opportunity to work with red ball in the UAE where it will be only white ball. Whatever red ball he will play will be in Australia. He made sure he planned it himself and worked hard at it. We generally practice for a session but this time he made sure he practiced for two sessions a day with red ball,” added Amre who would be with him mostly for one of those sessions before tending to his other job as Mumbai’s high performance coach.
In his last 27 Tests prior to the Boxing Day Test, including many at home, Rahane had scored just two centuries, one against West Indies in Antigua and the other against South Africa in Ranchi. He had 10 fifties and averaged 34.6 in the period.