When Rishabh Pants mishit gave Ajinkya Rahane a scare in the last over

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s face was frozen in deep concentration, almost as though he had suspended breathing. With six runs needed in about three overs on Day 5 of the last Test match of the series against Australia, a victory snatched by a side turned into at best a B team by multiple injuries was tantalisingly close.

Rishabh Pant, headlining the innings with a valiant knock, had just dispatched Josh Hazelwood for a four. Six to win. As Hazelwood ran up to bowl the second ball of the over to Pant, far away in India, a friend sitting next to this writer and watching the match on television whispered, “Don’t do it.”

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Rishabh was listening to no whispers. He went for the six, looking to hit the ball over midwicket. Misadventure. The southpaw sliced a fullish, angled-in, delivery high over the backward point region, but luckily, the ball landed between two fielders at point and cover and Pant lived to play another ball. He would end the match with a four on the last ball of the same over, but we didn’t know that yet. 

As the camera panned to the skipper, Ajinkya Rahane broke the freeze with a small, wry smile, his mixed feelings very apparent. The last over had seen the exit of Washington Sundar. Two balls later, Shardul Thakur would get out. It really isn’t over till it is.

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With the win at the Gabba in Brisbane, Ajinkya Rahane wrote his own name in gold in history books. To him will go the credit of ending Australia’s complete dominance at the Gabba; the home side was unbeaten here since 1988. 

The series began with a loss in the first test with regular captain Virat Kohli leading an A-grade India team. What was the chance that India, beset with injuries to top players and without captain Kohli, would come up from behind to not draw, but win the series and regain the Border-GavaskarTrophy.

Rahane’s India also effectively dislodged Australia from the number 2 spot in the ICC Test Team Rankings. New Zealand is number 1. “India displace Australia to become the new No.2 in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Team Rankings,” the ICC tweeted.

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Rahane, named vice-captain for the touring India team, took over from Kohli mid-series as the latter went on paternity leave. The 32-year-old was a calming influence as India regrouped after the Adelaide debacle and led the side by example with a man-of-the-match performance in the comeback win in Melbourne. 

Rahane did exceptionally to cope with a growing injury list and rally the team together, as India stood in defiance to draw the third Test in Sydney before the heroics of Brisbane sealed a fairy-tale series win for the stand-in skipper and his team.