India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Virat Kohli hails Ajinkya Rahane for 'top class knock' at MCG

Virat Kohli hailed Ajinkya Rahane for scoring a century on Day two of the ongoing Boxing Day Test between India and Australia on Sunday.

"Another great day for us. Proper Test cricket at its best. Absolutely top knock from Jinks @ajinkyarahane88," tweeted Virat Kohli at the end of play of Day two on Sunday.

After India's eight-wicket loss in the first Test in Adelaide, Kohli returned home on paternity leave. Rahane, who is captaining Team India in the remaining Tests on the 2020-21 Down Under tour in the absence of Kohli, led from the front at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the second day of the Boxing Day game. He struck 12 boundaries en route 104 not out off 22 deliveries, while he had Ravindra Jadeja batting at 40 at stumps of Day two.

Rahane promoted himself to No. 4 as he walked out to bat following the departure of debutant Shubman Gill, who scored 45 off 65 balls. The stand-in-skipper had been struggling to find form in the whites. His last century had come in October 2019. On Sunday, it was the matter of concentration and perseverance, and Rahane passed the test with flying colours.

Rahane brought India's innings back on track with a 52-run partnership with Hanuma Vihari before he shared a 57-run stand with Rishabh Pant and then an unbeaten partnership of 104 runs with Jadeja to take India's lead to 82 at the end of Day 2 – Rahane anchored each one of them.

He reached the three-digit mark off 195 deliveries and by scoring a ton as India's captain, he became only the fifth Indian skipper to score a century in Tests Down Under after Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kohli.

Rahane, who averages 47.62 in Australia in Tests, has scored two centuries Down Under and both have come at the iconic MCG. Overall, it was his 12th century for India in Test cricket.

Even former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Rahane, terming his ton as a "typical Test match century".

"It was a typical Test match century and a typical captain's innings, showing from the front how to play on a pitch which was never easy to bat on. This is a kind of a pitch where no batsman can say he is well set. There is something or the other happening, there is a lit bit of carry, the odd ball has kept low, there has been a turn for Nathan Lyon. So, no batsman can tell to himself even if he is batting on 60-70 that he is well set and he can go on to get runs. Pujara fell after Ajinkya Rahane came to bat. Vihari and he were new," Gavaskar told on Sony Networks after Day two's stumps.