We wanted to be ruthless, says Ajinkya Rahane

TIL Desk Sports/ India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, on Friday, said his side were determined to be ‘ruthless’ in their approach after the hosts demolished Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in its debut Test match, in Bengaluru.

The Afghans’ dream of scripting a fairytale turned into a virtual nightmare as they were found to be painfully short of experience for the longest format and were bowled out for 109 and 103 in pursuit of India’s first innings total of 474 all out on Friday. “This feels really special. It is always an honour to lead your country and we wanted to be ruthless,” said Rahane, who captained India in regular skipper Virat Kohli’s absence.

Rahane was full of praise for his batting unit, especially openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, both of whom scored centuries in India’s total.”Guys like Shikhar (Dhawan) and (Murali Vijay) got those hundreds, (KL) Rahul chipped in and (Hardik) Pandya was magnificent at the end. It was important for all of us to stick to our basics, create some good habits,” he said.

Rahane also had words of appreciation for Afghanistan despite their abject surrender in the match. “But credit to Afghanistan, they were fantastic. From here on itis only upwards and onwards for them. Their seamers bowled really well, especially in the third session yesterday and I am sure they will go a long way against all opponents,” Rahane said.