Ajinkya Rahane’s Boxing Day ton has a special Sachin Tendulkar connection 

Ajinkya Rahane has revealed that he watched Sachin Tendulkar’s Test hundred at Melbourne in 1999 ten times on the eve of the Boxing Day Test, and 6-7 times again on the morning of the game.

Tendulkar scored 116 in the 1999 Test at Melbourne leading the side while Ajinkya Rahane made a fighting 112 in the Boxing Day Test last month, which India won by eight wickets.

In an exclusive interview to Sports Today, Ajinkya Rahane revealed:

“I saw Sachin’s innings in which he got a hundred at the MCG when he was the captain. I got 116 in that game, I was watching his innings. I watched it 10 times on the previous night and the morning of the game around 6-7 times. He and Dravid are my role models.”

In spite of Tendulkar’s brilliance, India lost the 1999 Test by 180 runs.

Indian captains to score a century at the MCG:Sachin Tendulkar (116) in 1999AJINKYA RAHANE (100*) in 2020Rahane is also the first visiting skipper to score a hundred in Melbourne since Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf (111) in 2004. #AUSvIND

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) December 27, 2020

Many people told me MCG hundred was better than Lord’s: Ajinkya Rahane

Despite India’s memorable win at MCG coming at the back of the Adelaide disaster, Ajinkya Rahane had termed his103 at Lord’s as the better knock. In the wake of India’s historic triumph Down Under though, the Mumbai batsman seems to have had a change of heart.

On the comparisons between the two knocks, Ajinkya Rahane added:

“Melbourne Test hundred was really special. I said in Melbourne that my Lord’s hundred was special but many people told me that Melbourne hundred was better than the Lord’s one. Now I realise that, given the circumstances after the Adelaide Test match, Melbourne hundred was really special.”

Ajinkya Rahane had scored a brilliant century at Lord’s in 2014, under tough batting circumstances on Day 1 of the Test. India went on to win that match as well, by 95 runs.

India, braving multiple injury and fitness issues, defeated a strong Aussie outfit 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They returned home to a rousing reception few days back.

Thank you everyone for sending across all your good wishes 🙏It’s your constant support and belief in the team that kept us motivated to bring the trophy back home🏆🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/koPpqcW1VW

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) January 20, 2021

Under Virat Kohli, India will next face England in a four-match Test series starting February 5 in Chennai.