India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane says scoring his 10th Test century after a drought of two years was special and he became “a bit emotional” after reaching the feat in Antigua.
Rahane played match-winning knocks of 81 and 102 in the first Test against the West Indies which India won by a huge margin of 381 runs in Antigua.
“I thought the 10th hundred was really special. I wasn’t thinking about any particular celebration, it came out automatically. I was a little bit emotional,” Rahane told reporters here.
Coming into the Test series, Rahane’s form was a subject of widespread debate but the India Test vice-captain silenced his critics in style.
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“It took me two years to get that 10th hundred. As I said, the process always matters to me a lot. Preparations before each and every series is very important. I was actually doing that throughout the two years,” he said.
India was reeling at 25 for 3 in the first innings when Rahane came out to bat and the right-hander said he saw it as an opportunity to do something special for the team.
“We were under pressure. I thought West Indies bowled really well throughout that day. It was an opportunity for me to do something special for my team. I think because of the situation I wasn’t thinking about myself as it was important to get that partnership going — one player had to bat and we knew that,” said Rahane.
“We did really well and came back strongly from that point. It definitely felt really special for me because I got to know what it takes to get a century after two years. I’ve been working really hard on my batting. That partnership with Virat (Kohli) was really crucial.,” he said.
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Rahane was also lavish in his praise for all-rounder Hanuman Vihari.
“Vihari did very well in India A tours and he did really well in the domestic circuit. So it’s good that players who actually did consistently well over a period of time in domestic cricket are doing well at the international level,” he said.
“At the same time, Rohit is also a quality player, a special player — it’s hard to see him miss out on a Test match,” he added.
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