What does Ajinkya Rahane's Test record in the West Indies look like?

Ajinkya Rahane had a sensational return to international cricket, emerging as India's best batter in the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final. Quite a few questions were asked about Rahane's selection and some felt that his IPL 2023 form would have been a factor too.

However, Rahane silenced his critics with scores of 89 & 46 and was probably the only Indian batter who looked largely untroubled by whatever the Aussies threw at him. This has helped him not only keep his spot in the Test squad but he has also been named the vice-captain for the upcoming two Tests against the West Indies.

With injuries to key players like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, the Indian team management and selectors have decided to fall back on Ajinkya Rahane's experience and leadership quality. On that note, let's take a look at how Rahane has fared with the bat in the West Indies:

Ajinkya Rahane's outstanding record in the West Indies

Ajinkya Rahane by far has his best batting average against West Indies among all the other cricketing nations, averaging a staggering 90.71 with 635 runs in eight Tests. However, that average rises to a mind-boggling 102.8 when it comes to Tests on West Indies soil.

Rahane also has two Test hundreds in the West Indies, with one of them coming in Kingston, Jamaica, during the second Test of the 2016 series. Having missed out in Antigua, Rahane played a wonderful knock of 108*(237) to help India put a lot of pressure on the hosts.

While the West Indies managed to draw that Test, Rahane's crucial 78 in the second innings of the third Test in St. Lucia proved crucial for India taking a 2-0 lead and also winning the series. At his peak, Rahane was arguably India's most reliable batter in such testing overseas conditions.

Ajinkya Rahane's best performance in the West Indies, however, came in the first Test of the 2019 tour in Antigua. In low-scoring first innings from both sides, Rahane's crucial 81 gave India a valuable lead. The veteran batter built on that to score a brilliant hundred in the second innings that helped set up a massive win for the visitors by 318 runs.

Rahane also scored 64 in the second innings of the following Test to ensure that India had enough runs on the board to bowl out the hosts and complete a 2-0 whitewash.

While many argue that Ajinkya Rahane is past his prime, his past performances in the West Indies could just inspire him to continue his purple patch and help India with another Test series win in the Caribbean.