ENG vs IND | I am happy that people are talking about me, quips Ajinkya Rahane
Ahead of the third Test at Headingley, Ajinkya Rahane in a virtual press conference stated that he is happy with people talking about him. Rahane also added that he is not concerned about criticism, it is all about focusing on the game and contributing to the team regardless of the pressure.
The first Test between India and England ended up in a draw, but the visitors came back with an exuberant show to win the second Test at Lord’s. India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara added 100 runs for the fourth wicket in the second inngs at Lord's, which helped the visitors to put up a 272 run margin for England to chase. Both the teams will now head to Leeds for the third Test match.
Ahead of the third Test, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane stated that people always talk about important people and he is happy about that. The veteran batsman added that he is not concerned about the criticism he has been facing, it is all about contributing to the team regardless of pressure situations.
“I'm happy people are talking about me. I always believe people talk about important people, so I am not too concerned about that. It's all about contributing to the team and Cheteshwar and I have been playing for a long time, we know how to handle pressure, we know how to bat in certain situations. We are just focussing on the team, we just want to contribute to the team and that's what we are doing. Whatever we can't control, we are not thinking about it," Rahane said in a press conference.
Rahane scored a magnificent 61 runs in the second Test at Lord’s to put an end to his drought for runs. Rahane’s innings along with Pujara who made a 45 in the same innings helped India fight back in the game after they had lost early wickets.
"My innings was really satisfying in the second innings, I believe in my contributions and for me, I always think about the team. That knock of 61 in the Lord's Test was really satisfying. It was all about hanging in there, communication was all about thinking about small targets and building on from there. We always talk about Pujara playing slow, but his innings was really important, he batted for 200 balls. We backed each other, I thought communication was really good. We knew 170-180 could have been a very good score on that wicket," said Rahane.
Rahane reckoned that playing for the country has motivated him a lot in the past. He also added that the ultimate goal of playing is winning games and team performance.
"Everything motivates me, playing for my country motivates me a lot. Team performance is the ultimate goal, you think about your plans and methods, but ultimately it is all for the team. We just focus on that," he added.
Talking about the third Test at Headingley, Rahane stated that the team is all set to give thier best regardless of the conditions on offer.
"We are not thinking too much about the conditions and whatever Headingley has to offer. We just want to give our best, all players are in a good headspace and it is about putting our best foot forward," he added.