India v/s Sri Lanka: One of my best innings against spinners, says Ajinkya Rahane after 9th Test ton

India vice captain Ajinkya Rahane on Friday rated his knock of 132 against Sri Lanka as one his best on spin-friendly tracks as he predicted tough times for batsmen in the remainder of the second Test. Rahane shared a 217-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara (133) for the fourth wicket, rescuing India from a precarious 133 for three on day one.

“This was one of the best innings against spinners. My focus was to dominate. Going in to bat I knew a little bit how the wicket was behaving, how much bounce it had and whether it suits my game or not. The communication between Pujara and me was that we hardly played any maiden overs. So we put pressure back on them. As the match goes on, it will be a more difficult wicket to bat on,” said Rahane.

India’s strength in this series has been how they have handled the Lankan spinners, in particular Rangana Herath. Rahane said they had a game plan to counter home spinners.

“When we played last time here against Sri lanka, especially after Galle Test match, we decided that using footwork against Herath was very important. So, throughout against him and their other spinners we wanted to …read more