Rahane’s captaincy remains one of the less-explored chapters of Indian cricket. He was the vice-captain to Virat Kohli for the majority of his career. When the full-time opportunity came knocking on the door in 2022, Rahane was dropped from the side due to poor form, and Rohit Sharma got the Test captaincy.

Nevertheless, the 38-year-old ends his career today with a spotless record as India’s Test captain.

Ranking every Test Ajinkya Rahane captained India

6. Draw vs New Zealand, Kanpur, November 2021

The Indian team should have won this match. Chasing 284, India had New Zealand on the mat at 128/6 with almost a session to go on the final day. But the Kiwi tail wagged with Rachin Ravindra at the other end. India’s spin troika of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel threw everything at the visitors.

But the last-wicket partnership between Ajaz Patel and Ravindra batted out 52 balls to eke out a draw. Rahane’s captaincy was tested in this game to the hilt as he tried his best with bowling changes and fielding placements to bowl New Zealand out. But eventually, the Kiwis played out a hard-fought draw. Having said that, declaring the innings with a lead of 283 runs and more than 90 overs to bowl was also a bold decision.

5. Win by an innings and 262 runs vs Afghanistan, Bengaluru, June 2018

This was a historic occasion as Afghanistan made their Test debut. The Asian side got their first taste of red-ball cricket at the international level, and it was a tough outing for them. India dominated the game, posting 474 runs in the first innings on the back of centuries from Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan.

With the ball, India were clinical, skittling the Test debutants twice in 66.2 overs for just 212 runs. A win by an innings and 262 runs was the biggest ever for India at the time as Ashwin and Jadeja picked up 11 wickets in the game between them.

4. Win by 8 wickets vs Australia, Dharamsala, March 2017

This was Rahane’s first Test as India’s captain. It was the decider, with the series locked at 1-1 after three matches. He took a bold decision right away to hand a debut to Kuldeep Yadav. The move worked wonders as the left-arm wrist spinner returned a four-wicket haul. Kuldeep’s performance helped India restrict Australia to 300, even after they were 144-1 at one stage on the opening day.

India took a crucial 32-run lead in the first innings, and the visitors collapsed in their second essay, setting a meagre target of 106 runs. The hosts chased down the target to win the series with Rahane unbeaten on 38 off 27 balls while KL Rahul also notched up 51*.

3. Draw vs Australia, Sydney, January 2021

India’s tour of Australia in 2020-21 was memorable for many reasons. But the third Test in Sydney was special. It had all the twists and turns, with India even threatening to chase down 407 runs at one stage as Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant were going strong. But once the duo fell, the visitors’ backs were to the wall.

India were five down after Pujara’s dismissal, and more than 40 overs were left in the day. With Jadeja already dislocating his thumb earlier in the game, Ashwin had to bat up the order. He teamed up with Hanuma Vihari and fought a famous battle at the SCG.

Notably, both batters were injured at the time but didn’t let the Aussie bowlers breach their defence, stunningly batting out 42.4 overs to earn a famous draw for India. This draw also helped India stay alive in the four-match series.

2. Win by 8 wickets vs Australia, Melbourne, December 2020

The build-up to this Boxing Day Test couldn’t have been worse for India. They were coming off a horrible 36 all-out in Adelaide in the first Test of the series, skipper Virat Kohli was unavailable for the rest of the tour, and there were talks of India getting whitewashed down under.

However, the visitors had other ideas, as they fought back strongly to leave the hosts stunned. India bundled out Australia for just 195 runs before skipper Rahane led from the front to notch arguably the best century of his Test career. The visitors took a 131-run lead in the first innings, thanks to their captain, and the bowlers continued their good work to bowl Australia out for 200 in their second essay.

India then chased down the 70-run target comfortably with Rahane, quite fittingly, hitting the winning runs. He also won the player of the match award for his captain’s knock as India levelled the four-match series.

1. Win by 3 wickets vs Australia, Brisbane, January 2021

After a memorable win in Melbourne and a famous draw in Sydney, India walked out at the Gabba crippled with injuries. Two-Test-old Mohammed Siraj was the most experienced of their bowling attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin and Jadeja. Even Vihari was ruled out of this Test after a brave effort in Sydney. Add to it Australia’s unbeaten record at the Gabba since November 1988 and it seemed certain that the hosts would seal the series at their fortress.

Led by Rahane, the Indian team remained undeterred by the challenging circumstances and the opposition’s formidable record at the venue. They were behind the eight ball multiple times in the Test match but fought back every time to stay in the hunt.

Australia were on their way to post a formidable first innings total, but they collapsed from 311-5 to 369 all-out. In response, India were reeling at 186-6 before an inspired 123-run partnership between Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur helped them reach 336.

Yet again in the second innings, Australia were well placed at 89-0 before being reduced to 123-4. In the same innings, they collapsed again from 227-5 to 294 all-out as Siraj picked up his maiden five-wicket haul

Eventually, Australia set India a stiff target of 328 runs, with the visitors left needing 324 runs on the final day to seal a memorable series win. However, the highest successful run-chase at the Gabba then was 236, by Australia way back in 1951.

Shubman Gill laid the foundation of the run-chase with a 91-run knock while Rishabh Pant delivered the innings of his life with an unbeaten 89. Pujara held one end with a dogged half-century while other batters, including skipper Rahane, also played their roles perfectly as India scripted a historic, memorable series win at the Gabba.

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