Following India's heart-breaking defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in England in June at the hands of New Zealand, there has been a sudden change in the attitude and behaviour of the Indian cricketers. Be it Jasprit Bumrah's uncharacteristic duel with England's Jos Buttler or Mohammed Siraj's piercing gaze to the batsmen after dismissing them, it seems as if Indian skipper Virat Kohli's aggressive mantra is rubbing off on even the calmer members of the team. And, now India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who is known for his cool and calm demeanour, has joined the bandwagon.
"When The Trolls Get Trolled": Ajinkya Rahane Hits Back At Critics After 61-Run Knock At Lord's
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England vs India: After India's victory in the Lord's Test, Ajinkya Rahane - who hit a crucial half-century -- had a message for his trolls.
ENG vs IND, 2nd Test: Ajinkya Rahane hits a shot during Day 4.© AFP
Highlights
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Ajinkya Rahane hit back at his critics on Instagram
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Rahane scored a crucial knock in the second Test match
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India defeated England in the second Test
Responding to the post, a fan just wrote, "Caption", and added a fire emoji.
"Perfect response to those who have questioned your worth after a few bad knocks... good luck jinx... bring the trophy home," read another comment on the post.
"My Inspiration One and Only Jinx Sir," said another user.
A cricketer enthusiast even went on to call him the "future captain".
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Rahane has not been in his best form recently and some fans and experts have also questioned his position in the Indian side following his failure to score runs. Even in the first innings of the match, Rahane looked out of sorts as he was removed by England seamer James Anderson after scoring just one run.
However, Rahane shut his critics down in style by scoring a gritty 50 in the second innings of the match. Rahane, along with Cheteshwar Pujara, also steadied Indian innings after their top three - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli - were dismissed with just 55 runs on the board.
Pujara and Rahane added 100 runs for the fourth wicket. While Pujara scored 45 runs off 204 balls, Rahane scored 61 runs off 146 balls as India posted 298 runs for the loss of eight wickets before declaring their innings.
Chasing 272 runs to win, England were bundled out for just 120 runs.
The third Test match between India and England will be played in Leeds from August 25.
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