And that series also turned out to be the last series where Ajinkya Rahane had batted for India at the No.4 position and his last three innings at the position read 87, 89 and 50. But all that went in vain as Australia hardly had to break a sweat to seal the series and in the dead rubber game in Canberra, MS Dhoni promoted himself up in the order to bat at No.4 in an easy run chase and instead of guiding India to a good position, Dhoni further complicated the scenario by getting out for a duck. Wanting some quick runs India punned with Gurkeerat Singh and Ravindra Jadeja at three-drop and four-drop respectively which meant that Rahane had to bat as low as No.7 and pressure took over him as he could only add 2 runs to the tally. For reasons best known to Dhoni and Ravi Shastri – then team director – they dropped Rahane for the last ODI in Sydney where Manish Pandey scored a brilliant match-winning century and that one innings was sufficient for Rahane to go down the pecking order.

Rahane's moves yesterday - apart from the ball that he got out yesterday - were calculative and he realized that he was batting on a deck on which he could afford to just use his hands and play away from his body. Most of his shots yesterday pierced the straighter boundaries and as a result, the mid off and mid on were right on the edge of the circle which allowed him to pick singles each time he played a shot with soft hands. The 79-run knock was not just power, it had finesse as well and South Africa operated with a gully, he used the pace of bowler, and just guided it past that fielder and the square third man was a just mere spectator.

While the innings must have given Kohli a sigh of relief last night, some former cricketers had earlier voiced their opinions in the favour of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina’s inclusion and some wanted young blood like Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey to be groomed at the position. However, it must be noted that while the former two are the now the pale shadow of their former selves, Pandey has not exactly been that effective in the limited amount of chances that he has got. Iyer, still below 25, is indeed a man for future, but banking on him for the World Cup might prove to be a risky option. On the other hand, Rahane, who has played 21 matches at the same position and averages 39.10, will be a more lethal option for sure given his familiarity with the upcoming conditions. 

There have also been suggestions of promoting either Dhoni or Pandya up to the role. However, India will be short of a finisher if they decide to do so. With the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the lower order, Dhoni and Pandya’s late role becomes all the more important and hence, despite MS’ good performance at No.4, India will not be able to do that. Just like the stars are aligning in the perfect direction, Rahane’s innings came at a time when India are not taking the innings and his tempo with a pinch of salt.