India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Ajinkya Rahane leads from the front, joins elite list Down Under

Stand-in-skipper Ajinkya Rahane led from the front as he scored a century on Day two of the ongoing second Test between India and Australia on Sunday.

After bowling out Australia for 195 on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), India took a lead of 82 runs before the end of Day two's play. Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja were unbeaten on 104 and 40. Rahane, who scored his second ton on Australian soil, reached the 100-run mark in 195 deliveries.

With India captain Virat Kohli back home on paternity leave, Rahane is going to lead the touring party in the remaining three Tests. Rahane's century on Sunday put him in an elite club of Indian skippers, who have scored a Test ton while leading India Down Under. Rahane, who is batting on 104 off 200 balls, became only the fifth Indian captain to register a Test century in Australia after Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kohli.

Only Kohli has scored multiple centuries in Tests as captain in Australia (4), while the others did it one time. Azharuddin scored 106 off 162 at the Adelaide Oval in 1992, but his ton had come in a losing cause. Even Tendulkar, who had scored 116 off 191 at MCG was on the losing side at the end of five days. During the 2003-04 tour, Ganguly had become the first Indian skipper to score a century in Australia and not lose the match. His knock of 196-ball 144 had helped India draw the Test at the Gabba, Brisbane.

Meanwhile, out of Kohli's four centuries in Australia as captain, only one helped India draw the match – Sydney, 2015, while the other three were in losing causes.

Rahane is one of those rare cricketers who averages better in away games than at home. He has played 10 or more Tests in three countries – India, Australia, and England. Among these nations, the Mumbai cricketer has the best record in Australia. Having played in 10 Tests now, in Australia, Rahane averages 47.62, including two centuries and four fifties. From 27 Tests, at home, Rahane averages less than 40, including four centuries and seven fifties.

Towards the final hours of Day two, Rahane was dropped twice, but that cannot take away his fantastic effort with the bat on Sunday. Rahane's previous century in Tests came in October 2019. Countering his poor form and dip in average, while facing a confident Australian attack, the stand-in skipper laid the foundation with his traditional defence before taking on the lacklustre Aussies as he struck 12 boundaries en route his 12th century in Test cricket.

Earlier, Mitchell Starc dismissed Mayank Agarwal in the first over of India's innings and the Indian opening batsman was sent back for a six-ball duck. Debutant Shubman Gill played a crucial knock of 45 off 65 before becoming Pat Cummins' first scalp of the day. India's No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara countered 70 balls, scored 17 runs before he falling to Cummins before lunch. Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant threw away their wickets for 21 and 29 respectively.