Good partnerships could have won us the Test series, believes Rahane

The Indians embarked on a tough journey at the start of 2018 as they set out to face South Africa in a daunting three-match Test series, which was followed by ODI and T20I series in the latter stages. After conquering everything on the home turf, young Virat Kohli-led Indian side had a lot to prove and even more to achieve as they lined up against the mighty Proteas.

However, things started in the worst way possible as India found themselves conceding the Test series in the first two matches itself. The Indian batting line-up failed to fire in most of the three matches with skipper Virat Kohli the only Indian to reach a three-figure score. The bowlers, however, stepped up brilliantly with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah all putting up some impressive displays, but to no avail.

And Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane conceded that if it weren’t for a poor batting display in the African continent, the Indians would have been victorious in the Test series as well.

"What I can say as vice-captain is yes, we played really well, we could have won the Test series. Our bowlers were excellent in those conditions and taking 60 wickets is no mean feat. We must also not forget that South Africa played better cricket, especially in Tests. They didn’t let our batsmen settle down. If we had a good partnership in the first two Tests, we could have won the series. Had we won in all three formats, our tour would have been complete," said Rahane in an interview with HT.

India managed to bounce back from the initial setback as they won the subsequent ODI and T20I series comfortably to end the tour on a good note. After playing for Rising Pune Supergiants for the past two seasons of the IPL, Rahane was brought back to the Rajasthan Royals franchise, where he had risen to fame previously. RR used their 'Right to match' card to secure the services of Rahane for Rs. 4 Crore.

"I am really excited, happy to be back with the Royals. I am determined to do well. The team was like a family and now we are back again. It’s a very positive feeling. The best thing about Shane Warne is he is very instinctive. He takes decisions that no one can anticipate and has a solid cricket brain," Rahane added.