"India need Ajinkya Rahane in South Africa": Batting coach Vikram Rathour

Ajinkya Rahane made his Test comeback after a stellar IPL performance for the Chennai Super Kings.

Team India registered a dominating win over the West Indies in the first game of the series in Dominica. It was a complete one-sided result for the Indians, as they didn't let the hosts come into the game at any moment. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma slammed his 10th test century and made 103 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal had a dream debut and made 171 runs in his first international innings.

Ravi Ashwin ended with a 12-wicket haul in the game, while Virat Kohli also played a crucial knock of 76 runs. However, Shubman Gill (6) and Ajinkya Rahane (3) missed the opportunity with the bat. It looks like India will go with the same playing XI in the second game as well, which will take place in Port of Spain from July 20.

"You will need Ajinkya Rahane in South Africa"- India batting coach Vikram Rathour

Ajinkya Rahane made his comeback to the Indian team after a good performance with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023. He was one of the vital members of CSK's winning team. He made his comeback after 20 months and was part of the team in the WTC final. Though India lost the WTC final, Rahane was the top scorer, scoring 89 and 46 in the two innings of the game. India's batting coach Vikram Rathour feels that with his comeback, Rahane is looking more calm on the crease, and his presence provides stability to the batting order.

In the pre-match press conference, Rathour said, "Ajinkya Rahane He played really well in the WTC final. He was dropped because of bad form. When it comes to technique, you constantly work on that but what stood out for me that he was much more calm in his approach. He was playing late and close to the body. That has been the standout thing since his comeback. He is still batting the same way in the nets. We hope he will do well. Conditions in South Africa, you will need somebody like him to come good."

Meanwhile, Rathour also lauded debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal for his outstanding debut ton. He said that this was his first time working with the left-hander, but after the IPL, the way he changed his approach for test cricket was commendable. He highlighted that Jaiswal scoring 20 off 90 balls on the second day before lunch shows how mentally ready he is for any challenge.