This hundred will remain in my memory for long time: Rahane

“This innings was really special and the partnership too (with captain Virat Kohli). We were 100 for 3 and from there getting 365 is really special,” said Rahane, whose surpassed his highest Test score of 147 against Australia at Sydney in January of 2015.

Rahane admitted that humidity did play a part during the two days. “It was hot out there today. I was struggling yesterday against the short ball and Virat told me to take my time. Today I wanted to dominate after getting the hundred. This partnership will stay in memory for a long time,” an elated Rahane said. 

“I take credit for the way I handled things on Saturday when they were bowling short and I rate this 100 up there,” said the soft-spoken Mumbaikar. 

Rahane said Kohli and him were having fun in the middle. “We were talking about on Saturday but on Sunday it was hot and humid. We did not discuss too much about cricket. We wanted to have fun. The partnership was very crucial and we had decided to attack after getting our hundreds. We wanted their fast bowlers to bowl so that we could attack,” he added. 

The right-hander said there was a huge learning curve during the knock. “In this innings, I struggled but it’s important to enjoy and tackle it which is what counts. As a batsman it’s important to face the next ball calmly after being beaten. This showed me what Test cricket is all about. I needed 200 to 230 balls to reach my 100,” Rahane added. 

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said Virat Kohli “softly killed” them as the Indian captain combined with Ajinkya Rahane to torment the Kiwis bowlers in the third Test on Sunday. “(It was) high quality batting, took a good delivery to create half chances. Went through long periods of play where we reeled out a lot of plans, stuck to our game well, but we were worn down. Kohli killed us softly, is the nicest way of describing it, after scoring about 120 singles (out of his career best score of 211),” said Hesson.