Plan was to bat once & long, says centurion Ajinkya Rahane

Sitting comfortably with a 304-run lead, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said the plan of batting just once during the match seems to have worked for the team.

In reply to the West Indies’ 196, India declared at 500/9 at the end of third day’s play of the second Test here on Monday.

“Initially, in the morning, we wanted to play normal cricket. Unfortunately Wriddhiman Saha got out just before lunch. That partnership was really important for us. The plan was to bat once and bat long and I think we did that,” Rahane, who scored a century, said after the day’s play.

“After lunch the plan was to play positive and try and get a 300-plus lead,” he added. “Unfortunately the rain came in, that’s not something we can control. We were not thinking about the weather. We did not have any discussion about the rain. The important thing was how much of a lead we could get and how quickly we can get it. We wanted to play normal cricket till lunch and then if we played positively, our lead would’ve grown,” said Rahane.

On the possibility of tropical storm Earl hurting India’s chances of a win in the second Test, Rahane said: “We can’t control the rain. On these islands it rains but clears quickly also. You can’t be thinking about the weather and playing. Anyway there is plenty of time left in the Test match. Instead of thinking about the weather, it’s better we focus on what we can do.”