The ace Indian batter, Ajinkya Rahane, became the first Indian batter to hit a fifty (89 off 129 balls) in a WTC Final at The Oval, Kennington. On day 3 of WTC final 2023, Rahane reached this milestone in 92 balls when he took an aerial route to complete his half-century in a spectacular fashion.
WTC Final Day 3 : Match Preview
It is interesting to note that while the ace batter was about to write this heroic script, team India was already struggling hard to make a comeback in this WTC final. The Indian top batting order had already succumbed to the Aussies’ bowling assault resulting in Rohit Sharma-led side losing its first five wickets on Day 2 only at a score of 151 in 38 Overs at stumps.
WTC Final Day 3 : Ajinkya Rahane in Action
When Ajinkya Rahane & Srikar Bharat came to the crease of Day 3, they were under high pressure as Indian side required atleast 129 runs to avoid follow-on, which would have been a humiliating situation for the number one test team. But just on the second ball of Day 3, India lost S. Bharat as its 6 wicket. From hereon, Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur took the charge and played sensible innings by building a big partnership of 108 runs which brought India back on track.
Till lunch, India stood at 6/260, just 10 runs away from avoiding follow-on. At this time, Rahane inching towards his spectacular ton, which will make him the first ever Indian centurion as well at WTC Final.
Update: After lunch, Indian innings got wrapped up at a score of 296 as Ajinkya Rahane missed his century and got out at 89 while Shardul Thakur also joined the club to become second Indian batter to smack a half-century (51 off 109 balls) in WTC Final.