India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane on Friday said his side were determined to be "ruthless" in their approach after the hosts demolished Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in its debut Test match here. The Afghans' dream of scripting a fairytale turned into a virtual nightmare as they were found to be painfully short of experience for the longest format and were bowled out for 109 and 103 in pursuit of India's first innings total of 474 all out on Friday.
"This feels really special. It is always an honour to lead your country and we wanted to be ruthless," said Rahane, who captained India in regular skipper Virat Kohli's absence.
Rahane was full of praise for his batting unit, especially openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, both of whom scored centuries in India's total.
"Guys like Shikhar (Dhawan) and (Murali Vijay) got those hundreds, (Kl) Rahul chipped in and (Hardik) Pandya was magnificent at the end. It was important for all of us to stick to our basics, create some good habits," he said.
Rahane also had words of appreciation for Afghanistan despite their abject surrender in the match.
"But credit to Afghanistan, they were fantastic. From here on it is only upwards and onwards for them. Their seamers bowled really well, especially in the third session on Thursday and I am sure they will go a long way against all opponents," Rahane said. In a rare gesture, Rahane later called up the entire Afghan team for the victory photo opportunity and also handed over the trophy to the debutants in a bid to boost their morale. In a nice little gesture, Rahane called the entire Afghanistan team for a photo opportunity and even offered rival skipper Asghar Stanikzai to hold the winner's trophy.
‘visualize Test situations'
Captain Ajinkya Rahane feels "visualising Test match situations" during practice will go a long way in preparing Afghanistan for the unforgiving five-day format.
India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in what turned out to be a complete no contest after the visitors were bowled out for 109 and 103 in both the innings.
"For Afghanistan, it's just the beginning I think. With their bowling, they can do a bit of damage to any other team. It's still a learning phase for them," Rahane, like an elder statesman had words of encouragement for Ashgar Stanikzai's men.
Their batting is still not up to Test standard but India's stand-in skipper expected that things will get better.
"More and more they play any opponent, they will learn from them. It was just a beginning, for them. You cannot blame them. They tried their best. After first innings, they were trying to stay on wicket, but it's still a beginning. It is about playing those matches," he said.
"Attitude" and "patience" are two aspects that Afghan batsmen will have to inculcate, feels one of India's finest Test batsmen in recent times.
"Test cricket is a lot about attitude and patience and as I mentioned, with that bowling they can damage any team. If 2-3 guys can bat for longer period of time, they can be a decent Test side," Rahane sounded hopeful.