Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane found himself amongst the runs in the County Championship as he notched up his first century for Leicestershire during the Division Two encounter against Glamorgan today (September 1).
Earlier this year, in June, Leicestershire signed Rahane for the entirety of the One Day Cup and five County Championship games. Rahane had a decent outing in the 50-over competition, scoring 378 runs in 10 games at an average of 42, with four half-centuries. And now, he has started the County Championship stint on a good note, scoring his maiden first-class hundred for Leicestershire.
Batting first against Glamorgan, Leicestershire made 251, of which 42 came off Rahane's bat. Glamorgan responded with a mammoth 550-9, riding on Colin Ingram's 257 not out. In the second innings, Leicestershire lost two wickets early, by 37, bringing Rahane to the crease.
He stitched a 37-run partnership with Ian Holland, before adding 183 runs with Peter Handscomb for the fourth wicket to take Leicestershire to a position of relative safety.
Having reached his 40th first-class ton, Rahane was dismissed soon after, caught behind off Kiran Carlson for 102 off 192. At the time of writing, Leicestershire were 296-5.
This was Rahane's second County Championship century, having earlier scored one for Hampshire against Nottinghamshire in 2019. This was also the first time Rahane reached three-figures in first-class cricket in more than a year and a half, having last scored a hundred in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai against Assam in January 2023.
Ajinkya Rahane registers his second #CountyChamp century and first for Leicestershire pic.twitter.com/LR05eM09nx
— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) September 1, 2024
Rahane's last international appearance came in West Indies, where he was the vice-captain for the two-Test series in July 2023. Now 36, he has 5,077 runs from 85 Tests at an average of 38.46.
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