The Australians need a run-out - which was not his fault - to send Ajinkya Rahane back as he was in a great mental space.
The Day 3 of the 2nd Test match did not get the worst out of Rahane. In fact, after getting dismissed, his gesture of egging Ravindra Jadeja to carry on before walking towards the pavilion impressed fans.
Day 3 saw Rahane resumed on 104 and he looked to be in fine touch. Australia finally got their breakthrough in the 99th over. This is a dismissal that was probably brought about due to the milestone effect.
Jadeja was looking for that single to reach his fifty in the previous deliveries and wasn't getting them. Rahane decided to aid his partner with a risky run and dabbed the ball to point and set off for the single. However, Marcus Labuschagne's throw at the striker's end went straight to Tim Paine who did the rest and Rahane was given out for 112.
But what happened after that caught the attention of Twitter as the first thing Rahane did was to tap Jadeja and tell him to carry on.
Rahane's gesture impressed the fans and they took to Twitter to express their admiration.
What an amazing reaction by Rahane after the runout decision. Didn't let the decision affect jadeja. True leader. Unbelievable stuff.#AUSvIND #INDvAUS @cricketaakash @bhogleharsha
— RAHUL AGRAWAL (@RAHUL2494) December 28, 2020
Rahane's sportsmanship is superb...even Jadeja got him out, encouraged him to continue without any burden. Great gesture!!#INDvAUS
— Ankur Kumar (@ankurkumar78) December 28, 2020
Excellent Gesture by @ajinkyarahane88 to keep Jaddu motivated and letting him know that job not yet done..#BoxingDay #boxingday2020 #BoxingDayTest #AUSvIND #AUSvsIND #AUSvINDtest #INDvAUS #Australia #ausvsindonsony #Aus #India #IndianCricketTeam #AjinkyaRahane #RavindraJadeja pic.twitter.com/1r94OnH05W
— शुभम दोहरे (@Shubhamdohare9) December 28, 2020
Ajinkya Rahane‘s response towards teammate Ravindra Jadeja after being run out speaks volumes for his leadership ... given the circumstances he played one of the finest innings by a visiting captain to AUS ... #IndvsAus #AusvInd
— Sunny J (@CricketBiryani) December 28, 2020
Interestingly, Rahane was earlier trolled on social media after he was involved in the run-out of Virat Kohli in the first Test in Adelaide, which according to many was the turning point of the Test match.
Rahane had in fact revealed that he had apologised to Kohli after the day's play. "It was a tough one. We were going really going well at that time. After the day's play, I went up to him and said sorry and he was all okay. Such things happen cricket, we got to move on," Rahane had said before the start of the Boxing Day Test.