IND vs AUS: He's all about the team

It was no surprise that Ajinkya Rahane captained India flawlessly at the MCG anyone who saw him in charge at Dharamsala in 2017 wouldve recognised a man born to lead cricket teamsThere were a lot of similarities between that 2017 match and the one at the MCG Firstly it was between the same two highlycompetitive rivals then there was the valuable first innings lower order contribution from Ravindra Jadeja and finally Rahane aggressively accumulating the required runs in a nervy pursuit of a moderate victory totalThe moment that caught my attention in the Dharamsala match was when Rahane called on debutant leftarm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav with David Warner and Steven Smith involved in a century partnership This is a brave move I thought and it turned out to be a very smart one Kuldeep quickly claimed the wicket of Warnermdashexpertly caught by Rahane at first slipmdashand this prompted a fivewicket slide among the Australian middleorderThats part of Rahanes success as a skipper hes brave and smart However theres much more to his leadership than just those two important qualitiesHes calm when things could easily get out of hand Hes earned the respect from his teammates one of the most important aspects of good captaincy And he gets runs when they are needed which adds to the respect his team has for himIndia knew they would be missing the highly valued skills of Virat Kohli following the first Test Adding to the weight on Rahanes shoulders India suffered an abysmal collapse in Adelaide As if that wasnt enough Rahane was responsible for Kohlis run out in the first innings when India was easing into a dominant positionConfident unitDespite all those deflating factors the Indian team strode onto the MCG a week latermdashafter Tim Paine had won the tossmdashas though they were leading 1nilIn part that was because they were aware the Australian opening partnership was in turmoil They also knew that one man couldnt replicate the supreme deeds of Kohli and it was going to take an extra effort from all concerned to overcome his absence And finally there was the captain they greatly respected they wanted to play well for RahaneAnd boy didnt they do that There was Jasprit Bumrah excelling as usual at the MCG ambushing batsmen regularly R Ashwin with his newfound confidence in Australian conditions was exerting his influence over Smith a vital early wicket that further boosted Indias confidence Inspired by the seniors the debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj made significant contributions as they adjusted quickly to Australian conditionsDespite those valuable performances the one that turned the match firmly in Indias favour was the Johnny Mullagh medalwinning contribution from Rahane The captains century came at a time when India could easily have faded to a twonil deficit and it was this performance which gave his team the conviction that victory was attainableCome on IndiaA former resident of Mumbai told me his wife lipread the words Come on India when Rahane reached his MCG century That is another thing that defines Rahanes captaincy hes all about the teamAt a time when aggressive proactive international captaincy is in short supply India are fortunate to have two leaders who both understand the value of taking wickets over containing the oppositionThis tantalising series is far from over and India still have concerns with yet another fast bowling injury and an opening batsman in a quandary However despite coming off a twin towers style collapse in Adelaide along with the departure of their best batsman and the loss of two leading fast bowlers India have less selection headaches than AustraliaIts helpful that they have a strong calm leader and a vibrant spirit that has built up under the KohliRahaneRavi Shastri coalition If India does go on to repeat their last tour success in Australia the Mullagh medal wont be the only gong Rahane receives