India vs South Africa | Getting Back to Form Required Believing in My Ability: Ajinkya Rahane

India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 271 runs during their 2-0 series win in the West Indies, says his return to form depended largely on self-belief rather than technical adjustments to his game.
“From the outside it may look easy but for me it was about believing in my ability. Not thinking about the technical stuff, it was all about how I make the mental adjustment to handle difficult situations,” Rahane, who had gone 17 Tests without a hundred before the match in Antigua, told reporters on Monday.

“You get to learn from every match and every series and I had to wait for two years, 17 Tests, for my Test debut and for this century (in West Indies) I had to wait for 17 Tests. I think there was some co-ordination.



“When I was playing for Hampshire, I was thinking, when I made my debut, how my mindset was before that. In these 17 Tests, I was not getting a hundred, I was going behind getting a hundred and it was not coming.
“So, in the West Indies, my thought process was that I will not think of getting a hundred even once, whatever has to be happen will happen. If a hundred has to come, it will come.“

South Africa come into this series with a relatively new-look side as they enter a rebuilding phase, yet the 31-year old is wary of taking them lightly.
He also said that the World Test Championships have increased the stakes around every Test match, meaning all sides will be looking for a positive result rather than settling for draws.
“There are five Tests at home versus South Africa and Bangladesh. Because of the Test Championship, you cannot take any team lightly.
“Even before the Championship we were not taking any team lightly and since the points system is involved, every match is important.
“There is a big difference between winning and drawing a Test in terms of points. When you win home Tests and then go away, there is an advantage that you have points.
“Also, the likes of Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma did well in the warm-up and Faf du Plessis is an experienced campaigner. You can’t take them lightly.”