Brisbane Heat Made Conditions Worse Than Mumbai, Chennai: Ajinkya Rahane

The excruciating heat in Brisbane on the first day of the second Test between Australia and India made conditions far worse than in Mumbai and Chennai, Ajinkya Rahane said after his unbeaten 75 steered the visitors to 311/4 at stumps. (scorecard | highlights | Day 1 Report)

"The heat was worse than Mumbai or Chennai and it was challenging to concentrate," said Rahane, who has played all his life in the hot and humid conditions of Mumbai. (Murali Vijay slams record ton)

Australian bowlers Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood needed treatments at different times in the course of the Indian innings as the rising mercury took its toll on the fielding side. India had elected to bat and made most of their opportunities against an Aussie attack that was finding it tough to cope with the hot conditions. (Hazlewood makes debut, his father's friends make a fortune)

While Murali Vijay overcame the disappointment of 99 at the Adelaide Oval to slam 144 at the Gabba, Rahane, who had smashed 62 in the first Test responded with a polished half-century, his sixth in Tests. But the heat did not make things easy, even for the Indians who are used to playing in such temperatures. (Mitchell Marsh limps off with hamstring injury)

Rahane had looked on top of his game in the first innings in Adelaide but got a bad decision in the second to bag a duck in a tense run-chase. On Wednesday, he walked in with India at 137/3. The in-form Virat Kohli had just departed and Vijay was timing the ball nicely. All he needed to do was stay at the wicket and build a partnership against a home attack that had started to tire.

The surface at the Gabba was vastly different from the Adelaide Oval, with striking similarities to the pitches back home in India. The biggest challenge for Rahane would have been to adapt to the pace and bounce of Australia and he did that remarkably well.

"It was important to focus on each ball. There was good pace and the bounce remained consistent throughout the day. The pitch remained similar and there were no surprises. It was completely different from the pitch we played on at the Adelaide Oval.

"Our openers had got us off to a good start and that was important. After that it was great to watch Vijay's concentration from the other end," said Rahane, who shared a 124-run stand with the centurion for the fourth wicket.

After Vijay's departure, Rahane stitched up a 50-run partnership with Rohit Sharma and has looked increasingly comfortable. However, he said it was not easy to score runs, especially after walking in to bat. "I was tentative in the first 10 minutes. I needed an idea of the pace and bounce and wanted to stay in the present. I wanted to look for runs and that was the objective with which I batted," he said.

India have got off to a great start in Brisbane and Rahane said the players were proud of each other after their heroic efforts in Adelaide. Can the heroics of Adelaide rub off in Brisbane? The overnight stand between Rahane and Rohit could be key.